as is observed to-day,[7-1] and this is not
in the least applicable to the insignificant stream flowing out of the
Dos Bocas. M. Charnay was misinformed when he stated there is no island
at the mouth of the Rio de Tabasco. There are in fact two, one, long and
narrow, known as the Isla de Grijalva, the other quite small, close to
the plantation of Dolores (see the map). The latter was probably that to
which Cortes retired. None of the accounts say that the soldiers "forded
the river," but only the short distance between the island and the
mainland. These islands give to the entrance of the river the appearance
of two embouchures or mouths. The depth of the bar varies of course with
the seasons and with the tides.

But what is conclusive is that in 1525 the Spaniards founded the city
Nuestra Senora de la Victoria, on the site of Potonchan. In 1646, it had
a cura and a vicar, and counted 2000 parishioners, and the abundance of
its cacao harvest is especially noted.[7-2] At some later day it was
attacked and destroyed by filibusters; but the remains of the church and
the cemetery are still visible at Dolores, and pilgrimages are yet made
to them on certain holy days by the faithful of the parish of Frontera,
on the opposite shore. This record places the scene of the conflict
beyond all doubt.

_Condition of the Natives._--The various accounts agree in describing
the province as highly cultivated and thickly settled. Maize and cacao
were the principal crops. Temples and edifices are repeatedly referred
to. A few years afterwards (1524) Cortes traversed Tabasco some miles
inland, and has left a description of its industries. The people were
active merchants, and the list of their commodities which he gives
includes cacao, maize, cotton, dye-stuffs, feathers, salt, wax, resins,
paints, gum copal, pottery, beads, shells, precious stones, woven stuffs
and gold of low alloy. The richer citizens had numerous wives and female
slaves, which accounted for the rapid increase in population.[8-1] The
chronicler Gomara furnished a long list of the native articles which
Grijalva brought back in 1519 from Potonchan and the neighboring coast.
They reveal a high degree of artistic culture, and leave no doubt but
that the tribes of the vicinity were as developed in the arts as any in
America.

_Ruined Cities._--Writing about 1875, Mr. H. H. Bancroft says: "On the
immediate coast (of Tabasco) some large towns and temples were seen by
the ea