to the mountains and
woods took place, and a widespread relapse into idolatry occurred.

By a cedula of March 29, 1639, the King (Philip III) reiterated his
desire that henceforth all efforts to reduce provinces should be
carried on by means of spiritual methods only. These were not enough. A
series of misfortunes and mutinies occurred at Bolonchen, Zahcabchen,
Petenecte, and elsewhere. (Villagutierre, p. 147.)[6.1]

We have now, with the year 1624, reached the close of the second phase
of the Spanish conquest of the Maya-Itza stock. The first phase, an
exploratory one, began with Cortes in 1524 and ended with Montejo in
1545 or thereabouts. The second phase, a proselytizing one, began with
the year 1614, when the feigned submission of the Itzas took place,
giving rise to the entrada of Fuensalida and Orbita. It came to a dose
about 1624 as a result of the mournful events following upon the
entrada of Delgado and the mercenary meddling of Mirones. The third and
last phase, a commercial and military one, we shall consider in Chapter
VIII. It had its inception about 1692.

CHAPTER VII

THE EARLY HISTORY OF GUATEMALA AND THE
ENTRADA FROM THAT COUNTRY, 1694-1695

Hitherto all our attention has been absorbed by the Maya-speaking
peoples of Yucatan and northern Guatemala and with the entradas made
from Yucatan into the Peten region and to Tayasal. Now, however, we are
to consider, first, the early history of the Maya-speaking peoples of
southern Guatemala and the entradas made from that region into the
northern parts of the country in search of Lake Peten and Tayasal.

The Indian Tribes of Guatemala. The two chief tribes were the highly
cultured Cakchiquel and Quiche. They lived in what may be described as
the central portion of modern Guatemala. To the north of them dwelt the
Choles, Lacandones, Mopanes, and Itzas; to the south, along the Pacific
coast, were the Pipiles. With the exception of the latter, all these
people spoke dialects of Maya. It is well to note, however, that both
Fuentes y Guzman (1882) and Stoll (1884) arrived at the conclusion that
at least two thousand years must have elapsed to permit of the
development of the differences that exist between the Maya of Yucatan
and the Maya of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiche.

Account of the Cakchiquel and of the Quiche. The migration myths of the
Cakchiquel and of the Quiche show that