ique of the district. He
also presented them with green glass beads and small bells to distribute
among the inhabitants, in order to gain their friendship. We treated the
three prisoners upon the whole with every kindness, and gave them glass
corals to encourage them and gain their good faith. They left us indeed,
but took good care not to return; we thought it possible, however, that
Julianillo and Melchorejo had misrepresented our commission to them. We
staid four days in this place, and I shall never forget it on account of
the immense sized locusts which we saw here. It was a stony spot on
which the battle took place, and these creatures, while it lasted, kept
continually flying in our faces; and as at the same moment we were
greeted by a shower of arrows from the enemy, we also mistook these
locusts for arrows. But, as soon as we had discovered our mistake, we
deceived ourselves in another more direful way, for we now mistook
arrows for locusts, and discontinued to shield ourselves against them.
In this way we mistook locusts and arrows to our great sorrow, were
severely wounded in consequence, and otherwise found ourselves in a very
awkward predicament.

CHAPTER X.

_We continued our course and ran into Terminos bay, as we named it._

On our further voyage we came to an opening on the coast, which to us
appeared to be the mouth of some broad and large river. It was, however,
not a river as we had supposed, but a good harbour, which reached so far
inland, and had such a considerable breadth, that it appeared like a
sea; and our pilot Anton de Alaminos confidently asserted that this was
an island whose two promontories reached nigh to the continent. We,
therefore, termed this opening the Boca de Terminos, under which name it
may be found on the sea charts. Our commander and the other officers
went on shore here with the greater part of our men, among which number
I also was. We remained three whole days in this place in order
thoroughly to explore the opening and sail through it in all directions.
We discovered, however, that it was no island, but a deep indented bay,
formed by the continent, affording us a most commodious harbour. As we
also found temples here built of stone and lime, full of idols made of
wood or clay, with other figures, sometimes representing women,
sometimes serpents, also horns of various kinds of wild animals, we
concluded that an Indian village must be near at hand: we consider