Page:Vol 2 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/783

Rh town being formed by a few Spanish settlers assisted by a number of allies. Celaya and other towns also sprang up, and by 1680 the district claimed six hundred Spaniards. In 1576 Luis de Leixa had penetrated north-eastward, and on the slope of a metal-bearing mountain he founded the town of San Luis Potosí, which became the seat of the alcaldía mayor controlling for a time the whole region northward, and promoting thence its settlement.

Very naturally these rich and promising districts were objects of parental solicitude to the government, and as armed measures availed so little against the inroads of the savages, Velasco determined to try concession. In 1591, while seeking to devise the best means for the accomplishment of his purpose, he was gladdened by the arrival of an embassy from the hostile tribes, desirous to sue for peace. The Indians had been persuaded to this step by the mestizo, Captain Caldera, whose mother was a Chichimec. Caldera was a brave soldier, and a person of influence among his mother’s people. He had been able to convince them that continued war against the stronger race was useless, and they had now decided to make a treaty. The ambassadors were cordially received by the viceroy, and when, in return for their allegiance,