The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-11-06

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regime. administered all that part of Mexico, main
land and island, which lies to the east of Yucatan
The foreign port nearest to Cozumel is Belize, Brit
lsh Honduras, distant about 165 miles southwest
On to the northeast, some 210 miles away, lies
Cuba. From extreme points north to south the
island, which is rhomboidal in form, measures a
little under so miles, and from east to west about IA
miles.
Cozumel occupies a very prominent place in Mex
lean history. 1t was the first land sighted by Her
nando Cortez when, in 1919, he sailed westward
from Cuba on that famous voyage which had for its
object the quest of gold and for its result the
conquest of an empire. CorteZ, however, was not
the first Spaniard to set foot on Cozumel's shores.
The year before he landed it was visited by
Grijalva, the discoverer of Tabasco; and Ban
croft. the historian, mentions others who touched
there during the earlier cruises of the Castilians
among the Antilles.
1t is a matter of record that from the deck
of his 'tagship"-a little vessel of less than 100
tons burthen-Cortez counted IA towers on the
north and northwest coasts of the island. These
he found, when he landed, surmounted as many
temples, erected for idolatrous worship. When
he disembarked with half of his followers tall
told the expedition numbered only CIT mem,
leaving the others on board his small feet to
repel possible attack, CorteZ' first act was to dis
mantle these temples. Fired with religious zeal.
he pushed his way through the crowd of In.
dams who had come down to the beach to re-
ceive him, and, mounting the steps of the prin.
cipal place of worship, where the high priest and
his attendants were grouped, he harangued the
natives on the sinfulness of their idolatry, using
an Indian who had been captured off the coast
of Yucatan by Grijalva and who had acquired a
working knowledge of Spanish in Cuba, as an
Interpreter. After thus giving vent to his re-
ligious fervor, and Cortez' worst enemies could
never t~ruthfully assert that he was not sincere
in his faith, he ordered his soldiers to tear down
the affairs dedicated to the false gods and IN
their place set up a cross. No arguing, no rea-
soning. Prompt, aggressive action, without re-
gard to odds, and such action was Cortez' main
characteristic at all times when dealing with the
natives wherever he went. Doubtless much or
his remarkable success with them was due to
it. Although the Indians were obviously docile,
the invaders were taking big chances in thus
desecrating the sacred groves. But nothing hap
pened. The audacity of the proceeding was SUD-
lime, and so great that it simply dazed the ma
tives and left them incapable of protest.
When Cortez was at Cozumel the island had
apparently several thousand inhabitants; but
when Stevens, a %prominent American archeolo-
gist and traveller, went there in the early tortles
of the last century he found not a single soul.
The crowds seen by the Spaniards were prob
ably transients, for, as a matter OF fact Cozumel
never had a large resident population. II was a
sacred place to the Mayas of Yucatan and Cen
trel America, their Mecca, and a vast number OF
pilgrims went periodically to worship at lis
shrines. During the intervals between pill
grimages the priests, with their servants and re-
tanners. were doubtless the only residents
When the Spaniards became firmly established
In Yucatan Lney IOTpdu6 III phBi image " SoHuT
mel, their reasons for this course being that thew
needed the unir terrupter services of the Indians
as laborers. The church also took a hand In
prohibiting festivals on the island. They carried
the mind away from the doctrine which the mis-
sion fathers were propagating. and although the
Indian had without very great difficulty been in
duced to accept the cross in place,of the craven
image, he would, when visiting the familiar
scenes, be sure to associate with them the tenets
of his old belief, still strong within him.
notwithstanding that the religious herzegovina
tions ceased, Cozumel was not entirely deserted
until long after the invasion. OF course, it is
more than likely that thotc whose homes were
on the island continued to reside there after the
main body stopped coming. For the greater part
they were spiritual councillors and medicine men,
and IT is very probable that they were forbidden
TO leave. II would be decidedly to the interests
OF the conquerors, both lay and clerical. to keep
them away from. the masses of tho people. That
there was a settlement. and that Sp>niards lived