the crown for making settlements was impracticable unless the settlers were given Indians to serve them. The settlers could not live otherwise, for the Indians would not go of their own will, or, if they did, they would neglect to cultivate the soil. All efforts to bring the wild northern nomads to a civilized life had been unsuccessful. Before long it became evident that the measures adopted were of little avail. The Chichimecs were soon again overrunning the country, murdering and driving off stock from places but one or two leagues distant from Zacatecas. The town of Llerena, in the Sombrerete mines, would have been defenceless and the mines abandoned but for the force of soldiers furnished by the government.
After a consultation with the audiencia it was concluded that the only means of stopping the depredations was to carry the war to the camp of the enemy, and by fire and sword to destroy all male natives over fifteen years of age. Heretofore only the leaders when captured had been killed, the others having been sentenced to service, from which they soon escaped and became worse than before. Regular soldiers with sufficient pay would be needed, and three hundred and fifty pesos per annum for a private was not enough to feed and clothe him, and enable him to keep the requisite number of horses, that is, more than three for each man. The thing to do was to tax the mines of Guanajuato, Guadalajara, Zacatecas, Sombrerete, and San Martin, all of which were in the tierra de guerra. The prisoners of fifteen years and under, the viceroy suggested, should be transported to Campeche or Habana, so that they could never return. A few had been already despatched to Campeche to be utilized in the quarries.[1]
- ↑ If all the Spaniards in the country were to jointly attack the hostile tribes, the subjection could not be accomplished. Nothing but a war of extermination would do. In the mean time the only course left was to guard the highways, and severely punish all guilty of hostile acts. Still, the best means would be to maintain friendly relations if possible. Letter of Sept. 25, 1580, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iii. 490-1.
