Indians, who were fleeing every
day, now of the need which they had of supplies, now of the continual
rains which caused these places to be overflowed, by which speedy ruin
was threatened, now of the injustice which the said captains showed
us....

"Without giving me anything to do, nor allotting me Indians to
catechize and manage in the future, the said captain took away from me
those of whom I had charge, and whom I not only catechized but also
baptized and married, without paying attention to the despatch of his
Majesty, which prohibits the changing of the residence of the Indians
who had recently been converted, on account of the risk of their lives
which would follow; as Solorzano cites them and quotes them,--one of
which says 'that too hard work should not be given them and they should
not be taken to distant places, and that above all their health and
preservation should be looked after, without taking them to a sky,
climate or temperature which are different or contrary to those to
which they are accustomed.' ..."

The Padres Determine to Get to the Itzas Some Other Way. "We then,
seeing all these troubles and injustices, in order to avoid the contest
and disturbances which could not be remedied, together with all the
inconveniences, risks and dangers which in the time of so great rains,
each day brought to us, determined to return to the Province, with the
intention to send word about everything to our Very Reverend Padre
Provincial from the first town of the Province and to take from there
the road in a different direction, which I knew of, so as to go without
any noise of arms to the nation of the heathen Ytzaes, passing through
the nation of the Indians of Tipu. This is a direction opposite to that
which the Spaniards took; so that we could obtain in this way something
of our objects and end, which we always had before us, of going alone
without soldiers or armed men, for the conversion of the said heathen,
to which from the beginning we had dedicated ourselves...."

Letter to the Captains. "Agreeing then with my companions, the Padres,
in this good suggestion, I wrote a letter to the captains, taking leave
of them, without giving the reason why I returned, but stating that it
was on account of a slight accident that had happened to me; they, whom
their consciences must have accused, supposing that I should set forth
there in this Province before the Governor, who had sent me, their
improper methods