de
Grijalva was hurt by three arrows, one of which knocked out two of his
teeth.

Embarking again, and continuing toward the west, in three days they saw
the mouth of a very broad river, which, as Yucatan was then supposed to
be an island, they thought to be its boundary, and called the Boca de
Terminos. At Tobasco they first heard the famous name of Mexico; and
after sailing on to Culua, now known as San Juan de Ulloa, the fortress
of Vera Cruz, and some distance beyond along the coast, Grijalva
returned to Cuba to add new fuel to the fire of adventure and
discovery.

Another expedition was got up on a grand scale. Ten ships were fitted
out, and it is creditable to the fame of Juan de Grijalva that all his
old companions wished him for their chief; but, by a concurrence of
circumstances, this office was conferred upon Hernando Cortez, then
alcalde of Santiago de Cuba, a man comparatively unknown, but destined
to be distinguished among the daring soldiers of that day as the Great
Captain, and to build up a name almost overshadowing that of the
discoverer of America.

The full particulars of all these expeditions form part and parcel of
the history of Yucatan; but to present them in detail would occupy too
large a portion of this work; and, besides, they form part of the great
chain of events which led to the conquest of Mexico, the history of
which, by the gifted author of Ferdinand and Isabella, it is hoped,
will soon adorn the annals of literature.

Among the principal captains in the expeditions both of Grijalva and
Cortez was Don Francisco Montejo, a gentleman of Seville. After the
arrival of Cortez in Mexico, and while he was prosecuting his conquests
in the interior, twice it was considered necessary to send
commissioners to Spain, and on both occasions Don Francisco Montejo was
nominated, the first time with one other, and the last time alone. On
his second visit, besides receiving a confirmation of former grants and
privileges, and a new coat of arms, as an acknowledgment of his
distinguished services rendered to the crown in the expeditions of
Grijalva and Cortez, he obtained from the king a grant for the
pacification and conquest of the inlands (as it is expressed) of
Yucatan and Cozumel, which countries, amid the stirring scenes and
golden prospects of the conquest of Mexico, had been entirely
overlooked.

This grant bears date the eighth day of December, 1526, and, among
other things, stipulated,