Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/37

Rh men, women, and children, were massacred; at Papasquiaro a number were lured to destruction by treachery; at Zape ninety persons fell. Durango city, the seat of government, might also have been surprised but for the premature outbreak on the part of certain greedy chieftains, which gave the alarm, and enabled measures to be taken against the great simultaneous attack on the 21st of November. These measures extended also to the Acaxées, Xiximes, and other tribes who were prevailed upon to withhold at least active cooperation in the revolt.

Nevertheless the outlook became so serious that appeal for aid was sent to the viceroy, who gave orders upon the royal coffers at Zacatecas and Durango for funds, wherewith to raise more troops. The Tepehuanes generally avoided an encounter. With the spring of 1617 the revolt was practically ended. Deserted by their messiah, who mysteriously disappeared, the still rebellious bands took refuge in the mountains, there to be exposed to repeated attacks from different quarters, to which a price upon their heads gave incentive. After suffering heavy losses they were induced gradually to rejoin their submissive brethren. As it was, the outbreak had caused a drain on the royal treasury of several hundred thousand pesos, besides losses in revenue and to settlers, and retarded material progress in the province for a number of years.

A lenient policy characterized more and more the attitude of the government toward the natives, and experiments were continually tried for promoting their welfare. In 1602 came a cédula recommending a system of public hiring of Indians, to take the place of repartimientos. A fair was accordingly established in the principal squares at Mexico under supervision of a judge, where employers might come to engage