On a spring day in 1525, a small band of Spanish soldiers and Indians slowly made their way through the pristine rainforest of Petena, Northern Guatemala. A grim-faced rider rode ahead on a tall black horse. This was Don Hernando Cortez, the conqueror of the Aztecs, Governor-General of New Spain (Mexico). He stared unseeingly at the green jungle wall, and a cold rage filled his heart. They were marching east, toward the Atlantic coast of Honduras, where a new colony, Ibueras, had been founded shortly before. For the first time, colonists went to these regions by sea, on well-equipped ships. General ru-

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Cortez then entrusted the leadership of a responsible mission to one of his closest associates, Lieutenant Cristobal de Olid. Initially, everything worked out as well as possible. The colony flourished. However, de Olid, having gained unlimited power, decided to rule in Honduras independently, not even obeying Cortez. When the news of the lieutenant's betrayal reached Cortez, he personally led a punitive expedition, choosing a land route for this. His party would travel hundreds of kilometers through mountain ranges, swamps, and jungles, the most remote and desolate places where no European had ever set foot before. On October 15, 1524, he set out from Mexico City on a long and dangerous journey. A few months later, after overcoming countless difficulties and losing almost half of his soldiers, Cortez found himself in the depths of the Peten jungle, where only a few centuries before the conquistadors appeared, numerous cities and villages of the ancient Maya flourished. But, alas, all this splendor has sunk into oblivion, leaving almost no traces behind. The rainforest was surrounded on all sides by a handful of aliens. Giant trees closed their gigantic branches high above their heads, barely letting in the sun's rays. The fetid mire slurped underfoot. Flexible vines clung to packs and human bodies, knocking the gawking traveler to the ground. Thousands of dangers lay in wait for people here literally at every step. Yet the snakes, mosquitoes, and jaguars that dominated the Central American jungle seemed harmless compared to man's worst enemy, hunger. And he was now a constant companion of the Spaniards. The inhabitants of the rare forest villages that were sometimes encountered along the way burned their houses and fled into the jungle when pale-faced strangers appeared on the backs of strange four-legged animals. Hapless adventurers were left with nothing but piles of smoking ruins and green cobs of unripe maize in the surrounding fields.

The situation was already becoming desperate when an Indian guide led Cortez's party to the shore of the huge freshwater lake Peten Itza, where, as is known from some historical chronicles, since the XII century. The Mayan Itza, who had fled from Yucatan, settled there. They managed to create an independent state here, the main center of which was Tayasal on an island in the middle of the lake. The plight of the Spanish detachment and the impregnability of the island fortress of the Maya-Itza forced Cortez to abandon the use of brute force. And the conquistador put a trick in the code. A local fisherman, accidentally captured by the Spaniards on the shore, and a guide of the detachment, a resident of the province of Mazatlan, were sent to the island. They were supposed to inform the Maya ruler Kanek of the peaceful intentions of the aliens and arrange for him to meet with Cortez. The guide soon returned, accompanied by two prominent Indians from Tayasal. Cortez received them very cordially, presented them with gifts and asked them to arrange a meeting with the Mayan ruler.

"The next day," Cortez recalled, " Kanek arrived in five or six boats with about thirty men... I received him very courteously, and since it was the hour of Mass when he arrived, I ordered it to be held with singing and music, very solemnly. " 1 Apparently, the Catholic mass made a certain impression on Kanek, but no more. So he was immediately violently attacked by several Spanish monks, and had to listen to a lengthy sermon on the dangers of idolatry and the greatness of Christian teaching. Then Cortez took the stage again. The stakes in this game were too high, and the clever Spaniard was very eloquent. Grandiose words about the power and greatness of the Spanish king, about the happiness of serving him faithfully, being his subject alternated with praising the victories of Cortez in the Aztec country and in Tabasco. In the end, this lengthy psychological treatment seems to have paid off, and Kanek voluntarily agreed to become a vassal of the Spanish crown.

The Mayan ruler provided the Spaniards with food for several days of travel, presented Cortez with a few gold items as a gift, and, most importantly, gave him an experienced guide, since it turned out that the Mayans knew the location of the Ibueras colony very well. While the conquistadors were marching around Lake Peten Itza, Cortez, at Kanek's request, went to see Taijasal. Many officers dissuaded him from this trip, fearing the treachery of the Indians. But all went well. To sozhala-

1 H. Cortes. Cartas de relation. Mexico. 1963, p. 202.

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However, the Spanish commander did not leave any information about the city itself or its inhabitants. In a letter to Charles V, he found it necessary to write only one phrase about his visit to Tayasal: "I spent all this day in his (Kanek. - V. G.) city with him, resting... And at nightfall I said good-bye to him and sailed in boats to the shore, where I found many of my people who had already managed to circumnavigate the lake by land. " 2
But before the two leaders parted, a seemingly insignificant event occurred. Cortez asked Kanek to take care of his black horse, which had badly cut its leg on a sharp branch during the march through the forest of Peten. The conquistador promised to send men to fetch his horse when the campaign to Ibueras was over. Kanek must have received the strange animal with a mixture of awe and fear that Cortez noticed. In any case, he wrote afterwards: "The governor promised me to take care of the horse, but I do not know what he will do with it." However, Cortez never got to know about the future fate of his black. After settling his affairs in Honduras, the conquistador chose to return to Mexico by sea. The mysterious land of the Mayan Itza and the island city of Tayasal were again long forgotten by the Spaniards. It wasn't until nearly a hundred years later that the story of Cortez's horse came to light again. This happened under the following circumstances.

In 1618, two Franciscan monks, Bargolome de Fuenzalida and Juan de Orbita, set out from Merida, the capital of the Spanish possessions in Yucatan, in search of the Mayans. They were driven forward by the tempting goal of converting the inhabitants of America's last pagan state to Christianity. According to one authoritative historian, both monks were "highly educated people... well versed in the Mayan language."3 When they reached the shores of Lake Peten Itza, the Franciscans were warmly welcomed by the Indians. The ruler of Thayasal, Kanek 4, allowed monks to visit his capital and even conduct Christian sermons among its inhabitants. They preached their first sermon as soon as they arrived on the island, right outside the palace walls, in front of a large crowd. "The Indians gathered there," wrote the Spanish historian Villagutierre, "listened with great attention to the speech of Fuen Salida's father." 5 The monks were triumphant. Their cherished goal of converting the pagan Mayans to Christianity seemed close to being realized. And here an event occurred that dramatically disrupted this idyllic picture. After the sermon, the reverend fathers went to inspect " the numerous temples and shrines of the evil and false gods of the Indians... And when they entered one of them, "continued Villagutierre," they saw that in the middle of it stood a huge idol ... made of stone and very expressive at that." The monks stared at the God-defying image, speechless with amazement. The mysterious" deity " of the Mayan Itzes was nothing more than a statue of a horse, made almost in full size. "And they, these barbarians, worshipped him (the idol) as the god of thunder and lightning, calling him Tziminchak." 6
Villagutierre went on to say that, "filled with the divine spirit," Father Orbit seized a heavy stone and in a rage smashed the idol to pieces. The Indians were horrified. Before their eyes, an unheard-of sacrilege was committed: strangers raised their hands against one of the main gods of Tayasal! Only the death of the desecrators of the shrine could atone for such a grave sin. And the angry Maya formed a tight circle around the terrified preachers. Their demise seemed imminent. And then Father Fuenzalida, no less shocked than the Indians by the rash "act" of his companion, decided to take a desperate step. He addressed the outraged crowd with an impassioned sermon on the dangers of paganism. Apparently, his speech sounded somewhat convincing. The Indians calmed down a little, and the monks managed to reach the Kaneka Palace safely. There they learned an amazing story about the "horse god" of Tayasal. It was all the fault of Cortez's black horse. When the Spaniards left, the Maya placed the wounded animal in one of their temples, " considering it (the horse. - V. G. ) the same ra-

2 Ibid., p. 203.

3 Ph. A. Means. History of the Spanish Conquest of Yucatan and of the Itzas. "Papers of the Peabody Museum". Vol. VII. Cambridge (Mass.). 1917, p. 59.

4 All the rulers of Tayyasal were called Kanek. Apparently, this is either a title or a generic name of the ruling dynasty.

5 J. de Villagutierre Soto-Mayor. Historia rie la Conquista de la provincia de el Itza. Biblioteca "Goathemala". Vol. IX. Guatemala. 1933, p. 80.

6 Ibid, pp. 82 - 83.

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the zumnim, like themselves, brought him food-birds and other meat, as well as bouquets of flowers, as they do for nobles when they fall ill. " 7
There is nothing surprising in the fact that after such a "treat" the poor horse soon died of hunger. Then the terrified Kanek, fearing the vengeance of Cortez, ordered a replica of the horse to be made of stone and installed in the same temple. Since the Indians sincerely believed that the thunder of the shots of Spanish cannons and muskets comes from the neighing of horses, they named their new god with the magnificent name "Tsiminchak", or "Thunder Tapir" ("Tsimin" - "tapir", "chak" - "thunder", "rain", " thunderstorm"), In the hierarchy of local gods, Tsiminchak ranked second after the rain god Chaka 8 . After the incident at the Tziminchak Temple, the Reverend fathers ' chances of succeeding in Christianizing the local Indians plummeted. They even turned to Kanek for help, claiming that the former ruler of Tayasal had promised Cortez to convert to the Catholic faith. However, Kanek's response, not devoid of a fair amount of humor, was quite firm and unflattering. Kanek told the monks that the time had not yet arrived, which his priests predicted would be convenient for rejecting the old gods and accepting new ones, and therefore the holy fathers should stop further preaching here and return home.

This was the finale of the Spaniards ' first attempt to convert the Mayans to the Christian faith. After that, all communication and communication with the outside world was again interrupted for quite a long time. It wasn't until 1696 that another Spanish monk, Andre Avendagno y Loyola, managed to infiltrate Tayasal and even gain the confidence of the locals for a short time. From his story, it turned out that in one of the temples of the city, a stone box was carefully kept, where a large bone of a horse's leg lay, which once belonged to the black horse of Cortez. This bone was considered a sacred relic by the Indians, and they worshipped it9 .

It remains unknown whether the Mayans made another statue of their much - revered "horse god" after the visit of the Franciscan monks. In 1697, a large, well-equipped Spanish army led by Martin de Ursua y Arismendi (Governor-General of Yucatan) invaded the territory of Peten from two sides and after a short skirmish captured Tayasal. Thus perished the last independent Maya state, which outlived other Maya cities in Yucatan and mountainous Guatemala by almost a century and a half. But the story of Cortez's horse didn't end there. No one knows what happened to the wreckage of the ill-fated idol. There is an assumption that they were thrown by monks into the waters of a lake near the island where Tayasal was located. And now, a group of Guatemalan scuba divers-lovers of antiquity decided to test the authenticity of this legend, starting underwater research in the Peten Itza area. However, despite the efforts expended, it has not yet been possible to find the "horse god" on the muddy bottom of the lake .10 If its wreckage is really there, then the last word belongs to the archaeologists. Will this unique monument of the Conquest era become the property of science in the very near future?

7 Ibid., p. 82.

8 Suz. de Borhegyi. The Horse God of Peten Itza. "Lore", vol. 13, 1963, N 4, pp. 117 - 118. In the eyes of the Maya, the tapir slightly resembled a horse in appearance, which was the reason for the appearance of such an unusual name.

9 Ph. A. Means. Op. cit., p. 136.

10 St. de Borhegyi. Exploration in Lake Peten Itza. Guatemala. "Archaeology", vol. 16, 1963, N 1, pp. 16 - 23.

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