For This Equipment, Each Captain
Provided Sailors And Provisions, And The Governor Furnished Ships, Arms,
And Other Necessaries.
The accounts which had been circulated of the
riches of the country, especially from the information of Melchior the
native, soon collected a number of unprovided adventurers from the
different islands, so that 240 companions speedily engaged for the
expedition, among whom I resolved to try my fortune once more.
We each
deposited a certain stipulated sum, to provide various necessary articles
for the voyage, and for our use when in the field. The orders given on the
occasion by Velasquez to Grijalva were, to bring back as much gold and
silver as he could procure, and in regard to colonization or settlements,
he left him to act according to circumstances as he might think best. We
had the same pilots as on the former voyage, with a fourth, whose name I
do not remember; Penalosa was our veedor, and Juan Diaz our chaplain.
The port of Matanzas was chosen as the most convenient rendezvous, as the
colonists had many plantations and flocks of swine in that neighbourhood.
All our preparations being made, we set sail on the 5th of April 1518,
after hearing mass with great devotion, and in ten days doubled the point
of Guaniguanico, which the pilots call Cape St Antonio. In eight days
more we came in sight of the island of Cozumel, the currents forcing us
farther down than we had been in our former voyage. On sight of our ships,
the natives fled from a town on the island, but our people found two old
men concealed in a field of maize who were unable to follow the rest. Our
interpreters, Julianillo and Melchiorejo, whom we had made prisoners in
the former voyage, understood the language of these people, as the island
of Cozumel is only four leagues from their country. Grijalva treated these
people well, after which he gave them some presents and dismissed them,
being in hopes to induce the natives of the town to return. Some time
afterwards, an Indian woman of a good person and handsome countenance
joined us, who spoke the language of Jamaica, which is the same with that
spoken in Cuba. She told us that she had left Jamaica two years before in
a canoe, with her husband and nine other men, intending to fish at certain
islands; but the currents had driven them to this place, where the natives
sacrificed her husband and all her other companions. Expecting that this
woman might prevail on the natives to return to the town, Grijalva sent
her away for that purpose, allowing two days for her return, but she came
back next day, saying that none of them could be prevailed upon to come.
At this place, named Santa Cruz, we found a great deal of honey in hives,
several kinds of vegetables, such as boniatos and potatoes, and many hogs
of the country, having their navel on their backs. There are two smaller
towns on this island, which we did not visit, being unwilling to lose time.
Following the course of Cordova, we arrived in eight days at
Champoton[1], where we cast anchor a league from the shore, on account
of the water being very shoal at low ebbs. We disembarked with half of our
soldiers close to the town, and the natives remembering their former
success against us, attacked us immediately with much military parade.
From our former experience, we took care to be well prepared on this
occasion, and accordingly had our boats armed with falconets[2]. Half of
our men were wounded before we could reach the shore: But having formed on
the beach, and being reinforced by a second disembarkation, we soon
defeated them, on which they fled to the marshes; yet we lost three of our
men, our captain receiving three arrows, and having two of his teeth
knocked out. On entering the town after the defeat of the natives, we
found it entirely deserted, the inhabitants having likewise removed all
their effects. We took three prisoners, whom we endeavoured to reconcile
by kind usage, and sent them with a message to bring back their countrymen;
but they never returned, and we suspected our interpreters of dealing
treacherously so as to counteract our wishes. The field in which we fought
with these Indians was very stony, and swarmed prodigiously with locusts,
and these animals sprung up in such numbers during the action, striking us
in the face, that we hardly knew when to raise our shields in our defence,
or whether it was locusts or arrows which flew about us, they were so
mixed together.
After staying four days in Champoton, we pursued our voyage to what
appeared the entrance of a large river; but Alaminos insisted that it was
the termination of a large island, on which account this inlet was called
Boca de Terminos. Grijalva went on shore with several officers and a
party of soldiers, to examine the bay and the adjacent country, where they
found several temples containing idols of clay and wood, some like women,
and others like serpents. As the country was quite uninhabited, and we
found many horns of deer at the temples, it was concluded they had been
built for the accommodation of hunters, when they frequented this part of
the country, which abounded in deer and rabbits. We killed ten of the
former, and many rabbits, by means of a dog we had with us, which we left
behind us by accident when we reimbarked; but we found him afterwards on
the shore, fat and sleek, when we returned on the expedition with Cortes.
Continuing along the coast to the westwards from Boca de Terminos, we
arrived in three days at another inlet called the river of Tabasco, from
a cacique in the neighbourhood, but which we named Rio de Grijalva, in
honour of our captain. Finding this inlet shallow, we entered with the
vessels of lightest draught of water, in which and our boats we embarked
our whole force; as from seeing numbers of armed Indians in canoes, we
concluded there was a populous town or district hard by, especially as we
found nets with fish in the track by which we entered.
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