he king, and the drawing of miserable souls from
the darkness of heathenism, under the favour and protection of the
Virgin Mary, whose image he carried on the royal standard, and engraven
on his heart, he alone was sufficient for this conquest, even if it
were much more difficult.

He embarked with one hundred and eight soldiers, leaving one hundred
and twenty, with auxiliary Indians, and two pieces of artillery, as a
garrison for the camp. The vicar blessed the vessel, and as the sun
rose she got under way for the island, two leagues distant The vicar
offered up a prayer, and the Spaniards cried "Viva la ley de Dios!"
Half way across he encountered fleets of canoes filled with warlike
Indians; but taking no notice of them, and moving on toward the island,
the Spaniards saw assembled immense numbers, prepared for war; Indians
crowded the tops of the small islands around; the canoes followed them
on the lake, and enclosed them in a half moon between themselves and
the shore. As soon as within reach, the Indians, by land and water,
poured upon them a shower of arrows. The general, Don Martin Ursua,
cried out in a loud voice, "Silence! let no one begin fighting, for God
is on our side, and there is nothing to fear." The Spaniards were
enraged, but Don Martin still cried out, "Let no one fire, on pain of
death!" The arrows from the shore were like thick rain. The Spaniards
could scarcely be restrained, and one soldier, wounded in the arm, and
enraged by the pain, fired his musket; the rest followed; the general
could no longer control them, and, without waiting till they reached
the shore, as soon as the oars stopped all threw themselves into the
water, Don Martin de Ursua among them. The Indians were thick as if
collected at the mouth of a cannon; but at the horrible noise and
destruction of the fire-arms they broke and fled in terror. The vessel,
with twenty soldiers, attacked the canoes, and those both in the canoes
and on the land, from the king to the smallest creature, all leaped
into the water, and from the island to the main nothing was to be seen
but the heads of Indians, men, women, and children, swimming for life.
The Spaniards entered the deserted town, and hoisted the royal standard
on the highest point of Peten. With a loud voice they returned thanks
to God for his mercies, and Don Martin Ursua took formal possession of
the island and the territory of Itza in the name of the king. The vicar
claimed it as belon