The tears of the Indians being an historical and true account of the cruel massacres and slaughters of above twenty millions of innocent people, committed by the Spaniards in the islands of Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, &c. : as also in the continent of Mexico, Peru, & other places of the West-Indies, to the total destruction of those countries / written in Spanish by Casaus, an eye-witness of those things ; and made English by J.P.

Of the Kingdome and Province of Gua∣timala.

AT their first entrance into this King∣dome they committed a very great outrage. But for all that their chief Lord and Governor carried in a Litter came forth to meet him with Drums and Trum∣pets, and great joy; attended by many of the Nobles of the City of Vtlacan the greatest Mart Town of that Kingdome, where they gave him provisions in abun∣dance, with all that he could desire. That night the Spaniards lodg'd without the City, not thinking themselves safe in a Town so well fortified as that was. The next day he called to him the chief Lord with a great number of the Nobles, de∣manding of them a very great quantity of Gold. They returning him answer, that they could not satisfie his request by reason that their Countrey afforded not Gold, were immediately by his command, without any cause or form of proceeding, all burnt alive. The rest of the Nobles of these Provinces, seeing that all the chiefest of them, who had the power and govern∣ment of the Kingdome in their hands, were

for no cause put to death, but because they were not able to give them gold, fled to the mountains for safety, charging their subjects to submit themselves to the Spani∣ards, but not to tell them where their sculking places were, nor to give them no∣tice of their flight. Whereupon an infi∣nite number of the Indians came to the Spaniards requesting that they might be their subjects, and that they might serve them. The Captain made answer, that he would not receive them, and that more∣over he would kill them all unlesse they would declare whither their Lords were fled: the Indians replyed, That they knew no∣thing of it, but their Wives and Children they said were ready to serve them, adding, that they were at home in their houses, whi∣ther they might goe, and either kill them or use them as they pleas'd; which offers they made to them again and again. But strange to tell, the Spaniards demanded their Cities and Towns, killing these poor crea∣tures, who as they thought were secure at their work. They came to a very large Town, which being confident of their own innocence, thought themselves safer then the rest; but in two hours space they brought such a desolation upon it, kil∣ling all ages and sexes, that there was not a person left alive, but what saved them∣selves

by flight. The Indians perceiving that with all their humility, their patience, and their presents, that they were not able to asswage the fury of these inhumane creatures, and that they were daily killed up like dogs, began to think of taking armes; for they thought it better, since an evill death could not be avoided, rather to die fighting and taking revenge upon their enemies, then to be killed like beasts by them. But when they saw their want of armes, their feeblenesse, their nakednesse, and that they were utterly unskilfull in the management of horses, that they might have some way of prevailing upon their enemies, it came in their minds to dig certain ditches in the waies, that so the horses as they went along might fall into them: at the bottome of these pits they had driven in stakes sharpned at the top, and they had covered them over with clods of earth that they might not be discove∣red; twice or thrice the Spaniards fell into these ditches, but afterwards by their care they easily avoided them. And therefore they made a Law among themselves, that all the Indians which they took, of what ever sex or degree, should be thrown into those pits which they had made: Into these pits they threw women big with childe, and all the aged persons that they

could light upon, till the pit was full. It was a sad sight to behold women with child goar'd through the body with these stakes; while others that lay uppermost were kil∣led with swords and launces; those that would not in were cast to their dogs. They burnt a very potent Peer of the Nation in a great fire, saying that he was much honou∣red with that kinde of death.

Among other abominations committed by this Captain and his followers, who were not at all more gentle then their leader, this was one more memorable then the rest. Into the Province of Cuzcatan, where the City of our Saviour is situated, being a Countrey, which together with the neigh∣bouring sea coast is extended about forty or fifty miles in length; and also into the City of Cuzcatan it self, which is the Me∣tropolis of the whole Countrey, he was received with very great joy, the Indians expecting his coming, laden with a pre∣sent of above thirty thousand Turkies and other things necessary for their refreshment. But he having received their gift, comman∣ded the Spaniards every one of them to take as many Indians as they pleased, and to keep them for service as long as they should stay there. Whereupon every one took a hundred lesse or more, according as his oc∣casions required. And as for the poor

Captives they served them with so much zeal and affection, that they could require nothing more then adoration it self. Af∣ter this the Captain required of the peo∣ple a great quantity of Gold, who re∣turned him answer, that they would give him all the Gold they had. Where∣upon the Indians brought together a great company of spears which were guilt with Orichalcum, so that they seemed to be gold; but the Captain causing them to be touched, and not finding them to be gold, spake thus to the people, All curses light up∣on such a Region as this, wherein there is no Gold; and then commanded all those that had taken servants, to keep them in chains, and to mark them with the mark of servi∣tude, which was immediately done, the Kings mark being burnt into their flesh; which I saw also done to the son of the chiefest man in all the City. Those In∣dians that escaped with the rest of the in∣habitants of the Countrey, gathered them∣selves together, resolving to hazard a war with the Spaniards, but alas with small prosperity, there being an infinite number of them slain. After this they returned to Guatimala, where they built a City, which God in his justice destroy'd, overwhelming it, first with earth, then with stones of a vast bignesse, and lastly, letting in upon it

a great deluge of waters. Now after that they had slain all that were able to make resistance against them, they carried away the rest into captivity, or forced them to give away their children as tribute due to the Spaniards, for they use the service of no other creatures. And thus part being sold into the Countreys of Peru, and part destroyed by the sword, they made a wil∣dernesse of one of the most happy and po∣pulous Countreys of those parts, stretching out in length and bredth above a hundred miles. This the tyrant himself confessed, writing that this County was more po∣pulous then the County of Mexico, as in∣deed it was. This man in the space of fifteen years, which was from the year 525. to 540. together with his associates, mas∣sacred no lesse then five millions of men, and do daily destroy those that are yet re∣maining. It was the custome of this Ty∣rant, when he made war upon any Town or Countrey, to carry along with him as many as he could of the subdued Indians, compelling them to make war upon their Countreymen, and when he had ten or twenty thousand men in his service, be∣cause he could not give them provision, he permitted them to eat the flesh of those Indians that they had taken in war: for which cause he had a kind of shambles in his

Army for the ordering and dressing of mans flesh, suffering Children to be killed and broyled in his presence. The men they killed only for their hands and feet, for those they accounted dainties. Which be∣ing understood by the neighbours, they were all struck with astonishment.

Moreover, he destroyed not a few by compelling them to carry ships from one shore to another, causing them to bear great vessels, together with their Anchors of an extraordinary weight from the North sea to the South, being distant one from the other a hundred and thirty miles. And thus, also they carryed their Artillery from one place to another, putting them upon their naked shoulders, whereby be∣ing oppressed with the monstrous weight of those burdens, they sunk down often of them in the way, of which I was many times an eye-witnesse. He divided and se∣parated families, taking women from their husbands, daughters from their parents, which he gave to the Sea-men and Soul∣diers. All his ships he filled with Indians, where they died for hunger and for thirst. And truly if I should relate all his parti∣cular cruelties, I should make a book only to scare and affright men. He had two great Navies, wherein like light∣ning from heaven he consumed these poor

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wretches. Oh how many children did he deprive of their parents, how many men of their wives, how many wives did he make widowes, how many widowes did they vitiate, how many marryed women adulterate, how many virgins did they ra∣vish, how many did they enslave, how many did he cause to languish in calamity, how many tears, how many sighs did he pro∣voke, upon how many did he bring de∣solation in his worldly pilgrimage, and endanger their damnation in the world to come? and this not only to the Indians that suffered, but to the Spaniards whom he encouraged in wickednesse, and who assisted him in the committing so many hainous and abominable murders. I do beseech God that he would be merciful to him, and let his wrath be satisfied with that judgement which he hath already inflicted on him.