546 THE INSCRIPTIONS AT COPAN. 
the tremendous losses suffered on his side, and that it was no longer possible to 
restore the order of battle either among his men or in the conflict itself, he with- 
drew in good order to his quarters, where he continued the defense with a number 
of valiant men who, although few, were most dexterous in the use of arms. But 
naught availed them; after a thousand disasters they had to yield to the force of 
the Spanish arms, which remained in possession of the field. 
But still the valiant General Copan Calel would not surrender, since adverse 
fate has no power over great men. (Fuentes, vol. 1, p. 135.) He gathered again 
the remnants of his army within the walls of Copan, passed them in review, and 
retired in good order with his troops to Sitala, a place within his seignory. There 
he set about reorganizing his army, reinforced by neighboring lords, in order to go 
back against his capital, Copan, now occupied by the troops of the conqueror. 
Twice in succession Copan Calel attacked the Spanish forces shut up within 
the strong walls of Copan; and twice was he repulsed with immense losses, the 
more grievous since they fell on his principal captains and the precious remains of 
his best and choicest troops. 
After these repeated disasters, he consulted his prudence, his resources, and 
his chief counselors, resolving to send ambassadors to the Spanish commander, 
Hernando de Chaves. These were received and well treated by this latter, as was 
also the General Copan Calel himself, who came later and received from Chaves 
and his men presents of different articles from the Peninsula [Spain], which Calel in 
turn reciprocated by gifts of things native to the country. 
But this peace did not last long. Copan Calel, as one of the most powerful 
auxiliaries of Esquipulas (which had already submitted to the Spanish arms), 
endeavored to arouse against them some of the towns like Jupilingo, formerly a 
place of importance, as well as the lords of Esquipulas and Chiquimula de la Sierra 
themselves. He urged them that they should not remain longer under foreign 
domination, and that it was necessary for all to take up arms to overthrow the 
yoke, and fortune would not always turn her back upon them. So in fact they did; 
they began to disturb the Indian workers, to clear their fields and root up ees 
crops, killing them when they got them into their hands, and even carrying away 
their children to sacrifice them pitilessly at the famous temple of Copan. 
These hostile actions resulted in new and yet more sanguinary battles, in one 
of which the Spaniards lost two of their men, Fernando Encinas and Antonio de 
Cardona, who perished with 11 horses in the fighting outside the moat.} 
CHAPTER ELEVEN. 
OF THE ANCIENT CITY OF COPAN: OF ITS RUINS; THE CIRCLE, OR CIRCUS MAXIMUS 
OF COPAN; THE CAVE OF TIBULCA; NOTABLE ANTIQUITIES; ITS NUMEROUS POPULA- 
TION, OF WHICH NAUGHT TO-DAY REMAINS. 
This famous city was situated where to-day are only heaps of ruins; it lies 
between Chiquimula and the city of Gracias 4 Dios, though nearer to Chiquimula 
and close to the slopes of the sierra, where are found the famous Springs of Zara- 
goza. ‘The ruins lie in a beautiful plain, in a delightful and agreeable country; but 
now one finds there dense thickets and woods that make the going difficult. The 
word Copan signifies Bridge. The city has excellent water, and is crossed by the 
famous river of the same name. Its population is said to have been large, as even 
the town lists (padrones) would prove, were there more copies of papers, or perhaps 
more archival patents, or indeed if the secretaries and officials gave more zeal and 

1This passage of Fuentes is not clear; as he does not describe this action as fiercer than the taking of Copan.—M. P. 
