1855 Ladino bases in Cruzob area are given up, one garrison massacred; Santa Ana falls from power in Mexico; War of the Castes considered “officially” over, though Cruzob, in effect, have their own small kingdom and ladinos retain only a crescent along the coast
1857 Revolts in Campeche give Cruzob cover for massacre and loot of Tekax; Chichénha Mayas defeated by Cruzob, retreat to Icaiche and are nominally peaceful, though they later make a good thing of raiding into British-owned Belize instead of fighting the Cruzob, as they are expected to.
1858 Campeche and Yucatán separate; Cruzob take Bacalar, slaughter inhabitants and make it a garrison to protect trade route to Belize, where they can obtain guns and ammunition from the British.
1859 Juárez becomes President of Mexico. Country in debt to England, France, and Spain
1860–65 United States in Civil War and unable to repel foreign presence in Mexico
1861–67 French intervention in Mexico; an aristocratic faction of Mexicans offers Maximilian, an archduke of the Hapsburgs, the rule of Mexico, and he accepts, with guarantees of support from Napoleon III, Emperor of France
1863–64 Yucatán and Campeche fighting each other, Campeche blockaded by French Navy; French (imperial) forces dominate Yucatán; imperial commissioner sent to govern from Mérida
1864 June, Maximilian and his empress, Carlota, reach Mexico City. They evidently hoped to be benevolent rulers, but most Mexicans wanted self-rule, and Benito Juárez, the lawful president, was determined to drive out the usurpers.
1865 April 9, General Lee surrenders; Civil War over
April 14, President Lincoln assassinated September 15, Maximilian invites Confederate refugees to colonize in Mexico, an exodus begins, including many former governors and military men; several colonies begun, including Carlota, near Vera Cruz. Some Confederates hoped to fight for Maximilian, secure his, throne, and then influence him to make war against the United States and regain the South. November, Carlota visits Yucatán, is much admired, and wins friends for the empire among aristocracy.
1866 February, Secretary of State Seward (U.S.) demands withdrawal of French troops from Mexico.
April, Napoleon III announces a gradual withdrawal.
July, Carlota leaves Mexico to plead for help from Napoleon and remind him of his promises.
August, heavy Mayan raiding; by mid-month Tihosuco cut off, under siege till September 23, when Mayas abandon attack October, Maximilian learns by cables that Carlota, unbalanced by worry and refusals of help from both the pope and Napoleon, has become mentally ill; decides to abdicate November, victory parades for Tihosuco soldiers in Mérida, though the frontier is moving back to Peto; MERCY AND PHILIP ARRIVE IN MÉRIDA
Maximilian is persuaded to return to Mexico City and continue struggle, though Napoleon has completely abandoned him and French troops are leaving as rapidly as possible. Secretary Seward writes that U.S. forces will aid Juárez, short of actual invasion.
1867 Increasing Liberal (Juarista) victories as French withdraw; in January, in Yucatán, Peraza jonis rebels against imperial government (ZANE JOINS HIM AND MERCY IS ABDUCTED BY ERIC); Confederate colonists leave Mexico, except for a scattered few
Fifty-day siege of Mérida by Peraza, who wins and signs treaty June 15. Icaiches invade Belize.
May 15, Maximilian defeated and empire falls
June 19, Maximilian shot at Querétaro
But it was not until 1901, during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz, that General Bravo conquered Chan Santa Cruz. However, the Cruzob region became the Territory of Quintana Roo, separate from Yucatán.
Actual People
Jacinto Canek—descendant of the Itzá who led revolt at Quisteil
Marcos Canul—leader of the Icaiche Mayas who raided into Belize. A pro forma official of Campeche, he was supposed to fight the Cruzob
Carlota—empress of Mexico during French intervention; went insane; died in her native Belgium fifty years after her husband was executed
Cecilio Chi—Mayan batab, one of original starters of the War of the Castes; favored killing all whites
José Ilarregui—imperial commissioner in Yucatán 1864–67; allowed to leave Mérida by Peraza after city fell
Benito Juárez—President of Mexico at time of intervention; insisted on Maximilian’s execution in spite of foreign pleas for mercy; he and Lincoln greatly esteemed each other; probably Mexico’s most revered leader
Maximilian—Austrian archduke, brother of Franz Joseph, who was Emperor of Austria and head of the Hapsburgs; shot at the Hill of Bells between two of his loyal Mexican generals
Manuel Nahuat—probably threw his voice to make the Talking Cross speak; killed in 1851
Bonifacio Novelo—“The assassin of Valladolid,” one of the original conspirators, a mestizo; tatich at the time of this novel
Crescencio Poot—general of the plaza at time of this novel; a man of blood and massacres
Cepeda Peraza—an idealist who fought repeatedly for liberal values and Yucatecan independence; took Mérida from imperialists and was governor of Yucatán till his death in 1870
Daniel Traconis—commander of the fifty-day holdout of Tihosuco against the Mayas in 1866, and in charge of Imperial forces in Mérida during the fifty-five-day siege of that city by Peraza in 1867.
Glossary
administrador—manager of hacienda. Wealthy Yucatecans seldom lived on their plantations, preferring the cities.
aguada—water hole
aguardiente—strong drink, most often rum
Balamob (Mayan)—Mayan deities who guard cornfields and village crosses
balam na (Mayan)—God’s House, particularly the one built at Chan Santa Cruz
batab (Mayan)—chief
cacique—chief
camino real—main or royal road (which wasn’t saying much)
cargador—member of a religious brotherhood who was in charge of putting on a patron saint’s fiesta
ceiba—sacred tree of the Mayas, the kapok
cenote—a cave well or hole in limestone, northern Yucatán’s main source of water
chaac (Mayan)—rain god. There were also lesser chaacs.
chan (Mayan)—small
Chan Kiuic—valley where Talking Cross first appeared, slightly west of Chan Santa Cruz
Chan Santa Cruz—Little Holy Cross; shrine and center of Cruzob empire; now known as Felipe Carrillo Puerto, after Yucatán president who translated constitution into Mayan
Chilam Balam (Mayan)—Prophet of God; alleged author of holy books
choza—thatched hut, basically the same now as in classical Mayan times
copal—tree whose resin was used for incense, also to treat asthma
Cruzob (Mayan)—rebel Mayas united by the Talking Cross
cuatro narices or barba amarillo—fer-de-lance, poisonous snake
degüello—bugle call for “no quarter,” known as the “throat-cutting,” and played, among other places, at the Alamo, in Texas
dzul (Mayan)—white man, foreigner
epazote—wormweed, used as a purgative
garrapatas—chiggers; small larval mites that suck blood and cause irritation
hacendado—owner of a hacienda or large plantation
H-men (Mayan)—sort of priest herb doctor who retained some bits of ancient Mayan knowledge and advised when to plant, etc.
huipil (Mayan)—woman’s garment, often embroidered
Huits (Mayan)—“Those who wear loincloths”; Mayas who hadn’t been brought under Spanish influence at time of War of the Castes
Itzá—strong group of Mayas and last to be conquered. Tradition said one of them would successfully vanquish the whites.
Ixchel (M
ayan)—goddess of healing, the moon, and childbirth
Kisin (Mayan)—earthquake god (equivalent of the devil)
Kuilob Kaaxob (Mayan)—guardians of the wild forests
ladino—Yucatecan of white or mixed descent who owed allegiance to white culture rather than Mayan. Some mestizos or mixed bloods were ladinos, while some of the most important Cruzob leaders were mestizo
maestro cantor—lay leader of religious rites, often filling in for priests. One great strength of the Cruzob was in creating their own religious hierarchy and being independent of ladino priests.
mayordomo—overseer; mayordomo secundo—overseer of second rank
Mazehual (Mayan)—ordinary Maya
mestizo—of Spanish and Indian descent
milpa—cornfield
nohoch (Mayan)—great; tata nohoch or tatich—Great Father; tata nohoch zul—Great Father Spy
Pacal—priest-king during heyday of Maya. His tomb, at Palenque, is very splendid.
pibil (Mayan)—way of roasting meat, highly spiced, wrapped in leaves and buried in pit. Cochinita pibil (little pig pibil) was and is a popular dish, but other meat was also cooked thus.
plaza—square at the center of town. Larger towns might have several, and then the main one was the Plaza Mayor. It was a place for markets, celebrations, and executions.
pozole—corn gruel and beans
ramon—breadfruit tree. People ate its fruit, and its leaves were valued for grazing by horses and cattle.
La Santísima—Most Holy, the Talking Cross
sapodilla—chicle tree
tamen (Mayan)—harmony between man and heaven
tata polin (Mayan)—interpreter of the Talking Cross
tata chikiuc (Mayan)—general of the plaza, supreme military commander of Cruzob, though he was under command of the tatich
toloache—jimsonweed; a narcotic pain-killer
tunkul (Mayan)—long wooden drum used by Mayas
yuntzilob (Mayan)—spirit protecting fields
yoyotli—plant whose powder was tossed in face of sacrificial victims to narcotize them
yoloxochitl—Mexican magnolia, used for heart ailments
zic (Mayan)—cold pit-roasted meat dish
Acknowledgments
Very grateful thanks go to Señora Barbara de Montes, of Mérida and Cancén, for so enthusiastically introducing me to Yucatán and so generously sharing her knowledge on everything from birds to architecture—especially for pointing out private places and knowing it was important for me to sometimes do some solitary brooding. Thanks, also, to David Uicab, who showed me many beautiful things about his country; to Merle Greene Robertson, who revealed fascinating information about Mayan ruins; to Señor Moises Morales for sharing his conclusions about the Mayan decline; and to Señor Alberto Montes Laviada, who smoothed a journey and made it possible to visit his family’s henequen hacienda. And I thank the winds that spoke at the cenote of X-toloc and the black vulture that witnessed my intention.
About the Author
Born on the High Plains near the tracks of the Santa Fe Trail, Jeanne Williams’s first memories are of dust storms, tumbleweeds, and cowboy songs. Her debut novel, Tame the Wild Stallion, was published in 1957. Since then, Williams has published sixty-eight more books, most with the theme of losing one’s home and identity and beginning again with nothing but courage and hope, as in the Spur Award–winning The Valiant Women (1980). She was recently inducted into the Western Writers Hall of Fame, and has won four Western Writers of America Spur Awards and the Levi Strauss Saddleman Award. For over thirty years, Williams has lived in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1978 by Jeanne Williams
Cover design by Connie Gabbert
ISBN: 978-1-5040-3634-4
This edition published in 2016 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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