ed,
moreover, that this would be a most excellent spot to found a colony. We
had, however, deceived ourselves in one thing, the district being quite
uninhabited. The temples most probably belonged to merchants and
hunters, who on their journies most likely ran into this harbour and
there made their sacrifices. Fallow deer and rabbits abounded in this
neighbourhood, and with one greyhound only we killed ten of the former
and great numbers of the latter. Our dog took such a liking to this spot
that it ran away while we were busy reimbarking, nor did we see it again
until we visited this place subsequently with Cortes, when it appeared
in excellent condition, quite plump and sleeky.

Having thoroughly explored Terminos harbour, and sounded it throughout,
we pursued our course along the coast to the river Tabasco, which at
present, after the name of its discoverer, is called the river Grijalva.

CHAPTER XI.

_How we came into the Tabasco river, which we termed the Grijalva,
and what happened to us there._

As we thus by day sailed along the coast of the continent, for at night
we lay to on account of the shallows and rocks, we perceived on the
third morning a very broad mouth of some river. We approached the shore
as near as possible, thinking we should find a good harbour here. As we
came closer to the mouth we saw that the waves broke over its shallows:
we consequently lowered our boats to make soundings, and found that our
two larger vessels could not come in here. It was therefore immediately
resolved that they should anchor further out at sea, but that the two
remaining vessels which did not draw so much water, with all our boats
well manned, should proceed up the river. We could perceive in the
canoes along the shore numbers of Indians with bows and arrows, and in
other respects armed exactly like those of Champoton. We concluded from
their numbers that a village could not be far off; we also found as we
proceeded further up the river along the banks, basket kiddles put out,
from two of which we took the fish and placed them in a boat a-stern of
our principal ship.

This river was previously called after the cazique of the district, the
Tabasco; as we, however, discovered it during this expedition, we gave
it the name of the Grijalva river, in honour of our chief commander,
under which name it stands on the sea charts.

We might still have been about two miles from the village when we
distinctly