is horse, and extricated himself for a
moment, but so many Indians came up that they held his horse fast by
the feet, took away his lance, and endeavoured to carry him off alive,
intending, as they afterward said, to sacrifice him to their gods. Blas
Gonzales was the only soldier near him, who, seeing his danger, threw
himself on horseback, cleared a way through the Indians with his lance,
and, with others who came up at the moment, rescued the adelantado.
Both himself and the brave Gonzales were severely wounded, and the
horse of the latter died of his wounds.

About this time the fame of the discovery of Peru reached these unlucky
conquerors, and, taking advantage of the opportunity afforded by their
proximity to the coast, many of the soldiers deserted. To follow up the
conquest of Yucatan, it was indispensable to recruit his forces, and
for this purpose the adelantado determined on going to New Spain.

He had previously sent information to the king of his misfortunes, and
the king had despatched a royal parchment to the audiencia of Mexico,
setting forth the services of the adelantado, the labours and losses he
had sustained, and charging them to give him assistance in all that
related to the conquest of Yucatan. With this favour and his rents in
New Spain, he got together some soldiers, and bought vessels, arms, and
other munitions of war, to prosecute his conquest. Unluckily, as
Tobasco belonged to his government, and the Indians of that province,
who had been subdued by Cortez, had revolted, he considered it
advisable first to reduce them. The vessels sailed from Vera Cruz, and,
stopping at Tobasco with a portion of his recruits, he sent on the
vessels with the rest, under the command of his son, to prosecute the
conquest in Yucatan.

But the adelantado found it much more difficult than he expected to
reduce the Indians of Tobasco; and while he was engaged in it, the
Spaniards in Campeachy, instead of being able to penetrate into the
country, were undergoing great sufferings. The Indians cut off their
supplies of provisions, and, being short of sustenance, nearly all
became ill. They were obliged to make constant sorties to procure food,
and it was necessary to let the horses go loose, though at the risk of
their being killed. They were reduced so low that but five soldiers
remained to watch over and provide for the rest. Finding it impossible
to hold out any longer, they determined to abandon the place. Gonzal