Soon After Alvaredo Set Out For Cuba, By The Advice Of His Captains And
Pilots, Grijalva Continued His Exploration Of The Coast, Which He Sailed
Along In Sight Of The Mountains Of Tuspa, So Named From A Town In That
Neighbourhood.
Proceeding onwards to the province of Panuco, they saw
several towns on the shore, and a river which they named Decancas.
While
they lay here at anchor rather off their guard, ten canoes full of armed
men came towards the ship commanded by Alonzo de Avila, and poured in a
flight of arrows, by which five men were wounded, and then attempted to
cut the cables, that they might carry off the ship, and even succeeded so
far as to cut one of the cables. The men on board de Avilas ship behaved
themselves well, and overset two of the canoes, yet required the aid of
fire-arms from the other ships before they could drive away the Indians.
At last, many of the Indians being wounded, they desisted from their rash
enterprise, and made for the land. From this place the Spaniards sailed
along the coast till they came to a large point of land which they found
very difficult to double, and the pilot Alaminos represented that it was
very inconvenient to proceed any farther in that direction. The captains
and pilots now consulted as to what was best to be done, some of whom were
for returning along the coast in search of a proper place in which to
settle a colony. Montejo and Avila differed from this opinion,
representing that winter was approaching, that provisions were growing
scarce, and one of the ships very leaky; for all which reasons it was
advisable to return to Cuba; the more especially because the natives of
this coast were numerous and warlike, and the Spaniards were so much
fatigued by having been so long at sea, that they were not able to
maintain their ground. Added to this, Grijalva considered that his
instructions were positive not to attempt any settlement; and this being
backed by the opinion of his captains, Montejo and Avila, he determined to
return. Tacking about, therefore, he came back to the great river of
Guazacoallo, but could not enter it on account of bad weather. They
proceeded thence to the river of Tonala, which they had named St Anthony,
where they careened their leaky ship. While here, many Indians came to
them from the town, which was a league off, bringing fowls, bread, and
other provisions, which they bartered for Spanish toys; and the news
having spread over the country, others came from Guazacoallo, and other
neighbouring towns, bringing provisions, small gold plates, and very
bright copper axes with painted handles. Thinking these axes had been pale
gold, the Spaniards purchased six hundred of them, and the natives would
willingly have sold them more.
While at this place, one Bartholomew Prado went to a temple which stood in
the fields, whence he brought some of the perfume used by the Indians,
named copal, or, as some call it, gum anime. He also brought away the
knives of flint, with which the priests sacrifice men to their false gods,
by ripping them open, and some idols. He delivered all these things to
Grijalva, having first taken off the ear-rings, pendants, plates, and
crowns of gold with which the idols were adorned, worth about ninety
pieces of eight, which he endeavoured to conceal; but not being able to
dissemble his joy for the booty he had obtained, Grijalva had notice of it;
yet, being of a generous temper, he restored all to Prado, reserving only
the fifth for the king. When they had refitted their ship, they sailed in
forty-five days to Cuba, with gold to the value of 4000 pieces of eight,
besides what Alvaredo had carried. When they came to pay the fifth for the
copper axes, which they had bought for gold, they were much confused on
finding them rusty. They put into the harbour of Matancas, where Grijalva
found a letter from Velasquez, ordering him to tell the soldiers that
another fleet was fitting out for returning to make a settlement in New
Spain, and that those who chose to go back should remain at some farms
belonging to the governor in that neighbourhood. Grijalva himself was
ordered to come with all speed with the ships to Santiago, where the new
fleet was fitting out. On appearing before Velasquez, he had no thanks for
all the trouble he had been at, and was even abused for not having made a
settlement, though he had acted exactly according to his instructions.
This was a capital blunder in Velasquez, as he seemed resolved to find a
person fitted both for making discoveries and of betraying him by setting
up for himself. One would have imagined that a man of so much good sense
as Velasquez certainly had, would have had the judgment to retain in his
employment a person so fit for his purpose as Grijalva had proved; and the
very thing for which he disgraced him ought assuredly to have preserved
him from that fate, since only by a scrupulous regard to his instructions
had he refrained, after such valuable discoveries, from pursuing that line
of conduct by which he was most likely to have established his fortune and
independence. But Velasquez, like many other men of excellent abilities,
often preferred the opinions of others to his own, thereby losing the
opportunities which his superior talents afforded. Yet it is highly
probable that this very error contributed more to the important conquests
which were afterwards made by the Spaniards, than the wisest measures he
could have taken.
[1] The Sue Tajassu of Naturalists, or the Pecary. This singular species
of the hog tribe, has an open glandular orifice in the hinder part of
the back, which discharges an unctuous foetid liquor, which must be
cut out immediately after the death of the animal, otherwise the whole
carcase is soon tainted with an intolerable odour.
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