Page:The Annals of the Cakchiquels.djvu/85

Rh 15. Then we arrived at the sea coast. There were gathered together the warriors of all the seven villages at the sea. A great number perished, devoured by sorrow. "There is no means of passing, nor is it told of any one who has passed the sea," said all the warriors of the seven villages, "Who can, who will find means to pass the sea? In thee alone, my brother, in thee alone have we hope," said they all. We said to them, "You may go on; you may be first. Who will find the means of crossing, while we are here?" All of us spoke thus, and then all of them said: "Have pity on us, our brother, since we are all stretched on the shore of the ocean without seeing our hills and plains. As soon as we were asleep, we were conquered, we the two oldest sons, we the chiefs and guides of the warriors of the seven villages, oh my brother. Would that we had passed, and could see the burdens given us by our mothers and fathers, oh my brother!" So they spoke. At that time the Quiche nation had increased. Our ancestors, Gagavitz and Zactecauh, said: "We said to them, 'we suffer also, our brother, we do not live stretched out on the shore of the ocean, where we cannot see our mountains where they are, as you say, oh you warriors, you people of the seven villages. We shall pass over at once. Thus we spoke; and soon all of them rejoiced.'"

16. Now there was a red tree, our staff, which we had taken in passing from the gate of Tulan, and therefore we are called the Cakchiquel people, oh our sons, said Gagavitz and Zactecauh. The root of this, our staff, was pushed into the sand of the sea, and soon the sea was separated from the sand, and for this the red tree served which we brought from Tulan. Soon the sand was as a line, and we passed out; it became wide above the sea and below the sea. Then all rejoiced, when they saw sand in the sea, and many counseled together. "There indeed is our hope, we must, gather together on these first lands," they said; "here only can we arrange ourselves since leaving Tulan."