The Cacique Was
Received On Board With Much Respect, And Sitting Down With Grijalva, Some
Discourse Took Place Between Them, Of Which Both Understood Very Little,
As It Was Mostly Carried On By Signs, And By Means Of A Few Words Which
Melchior And Julian Were Able To Interpret.
After some time, the cacique
ordered one of his attendants to take from a petaca, or a kind of trunk,
the presents which he had brought for the Spaniards.
The Indian
accordingly took out certain plates of gold, and thin boards covered with
gold, in the nature of armour, which fitted Grijalva as perfectly as if
they had been made on purpose; and the cacique put them on him himself,
changing any that did not fit for others, till at length Grijalva was
fitted with a complete suit of golden armour. The cacique also presented
him with various works of gold and feathers, which are much valued among
these people; and it was wonderful how splendid Grijalva appeared in all
these fine ornaments, for which he made every sign of gratitude to the
cacique. He called for a shirt of fine linen, which with his own hands he
put upon the cacique; then took off his coat of crimson velvet, with which
he clothed him, and put a pair of new shoes on his feet, and gave him some
of the finest strings of beads and looking-glasses, with scissars, knives,
and several articles of tin; and distributed many such among the caciques
attendants. What the cacique had given to Grijalva was computed to be
worth 3000 pieces of eight; among which was a wooden helmet covered with
thin plates of gold, and three or four masks, some of which were studded
with a sort of stones resembling emeralds. The sight of all these things
made the Spaniards eager to settle in a country which produced so much
wealth. Grijalva, after receiving this great present at Tabasco, was
sensible that the Indians were not willing he should prolong his stay; and
on asking for more gold, the Indians answered Culua, culua.
He now proceeded farther along the coast, and in two days came to a town
called Aqualunco, which the Spaniards called la Rambla. The
inhabitants of this place were seen at a distance, armed with targets of
tortoiseshell, which glittered so in the sun that the Spaniards believed
they had been of pale gold. They discovered a bay into which the river
Tonala discharges itself, which they visited on their return, and called
it the river of St Anthony. At some distance farther on they saw the great
river of Guazacoallo, which they could not enter on account of bad
weather. After this they had a view of the Snowy Islands[2] of New Spain,
which the soldiers named St Martin. Holding on their course, Alvaredo,
having the headmost ship, entered a river called Papaloava, but which
the Spaniards named Alvaredos river. Here the natives of a town, called
Tavotulpale brought fish, and the other ships waited till Alvaredo came
out.
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Words from 186514 to 187024
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