proved to be spies. From
that time on their troubles increased.

From all this it is easy to deduce that the peoples to the south of the
Lacandones and Maya (such people as the Choles) were of a comparatively
docile temperament and were easily won over, temporarily, to the
Christian faith. As soon, however, as the fiercer and more stubborn
Lacandones brought their influence to bear upon the converts, the
latter found that their attachment to the new religion was but
superficial. (Remesal, lib. x, cap. 10.) Moreover, the lack of
authority to use armed force wherever necessary was another
disadvantage under which the missionaries labored. There can be but
little doubt that they also were too hasty in their attempts to
exchange the somewhat abstruse spiritual worship of the Catholic Church
for the veneration of tangible gods of stone or wood. They were quick
to destroy the old and long-venerated gods, but they were unable to
replace them with something the Indians were able to understand.

In 1686 the King (Charles II), calling the Viceroy's attention to the
great number of unconverted tribes in Guatemala, Yucatan, and
elsewhere, ordered further reductions to be made, at once, but as
gently as possible.

The Inception of the Plan to Subdue the Itzas, 1689. In 1689 Captain
Juan de Mendoza wrote to the court to tell how the reductions had been
begun, and to ask that he might be placed at the head of fifty
soldiers. On the advice of Guzman, who had now returned from Guatemala
to the Spanish court, his wish was granted. The following plan for
the reduction of the Choles and the Lacandones was decided upon.
(Villagutierre, p. 190.)

Three entradas were to be made at the same time. One from the province
of Guatemala, which was in the hands of the Dominicans; a second from
Huehuetenango, which was Mercedarian; and the third from Chiapas, which
was Dominican. Fray Augustin Cano, of the Order of Predicadores, and
Fray Diego de Ribas, of the Order of la Merced, were to go first and
try, by peaceful means, to accomplish their purpose. Mendoza was to try
more vigorous measures. Juan de Mendoza and his men were to be nothing
more than an escort to the Padres, and the conquest was to be
accomplished only by the evangelical word.

Soberanis Ordered to Cooperate. On November 24, 1692, like orders were
given to Don Roque de Soberanis y Centeno, Governor of Yucatan, and he
was told to cooperate with President Barrios Leal of Guat