ght in utter
astonishment, and gave this island the name of Isla de Sacrificios.
Quitting this place, we landed on the neighbouring continent, where we
constructed ourselves huts on one of the large downs, with some sails
and the branches of trees. Numbers of Indians soon made their
appearance, bringing with them small pieces of gold for barter, in the
same way as at the Bandera stream, according to the commands of
Motecusuma, as we subsequently learnt. The inhabitants, however,
approached us in great fear, and what they brought with them was a mere
trifle. Our captain, therefore, soon weighed anchor again. The next
place we landed at was in view of another island, which lay about two
miles from the continent. This at present is considered the best harbour
of the country. What happened to us in this place I will relate in the
next chapter.

[6] The author sometimes also calls this nequen, of which the garments
of the poorer classes were manufactured. The maguey is the well-known
agava Americana, the sap of which formed the national drink of the
Indians, and the Mexicans were accustomed to write most of their
hieroglyphics on the cloth manufactured from the leaves. (p. 29.)

CHAPTER XIV.

_How we came into the harbour of San Juan de Culua._

Having disembarked on a part of the coast where it was very sandy, we
were annoyed by such multitudes of muschetoes that we were forced to
construct ourselves huts on the great downs and in the tops of trees:
this, being done, we carefully examined the harbour in our boats, and
were fully satisfied that it contained a good anchorage, it being
moreover sheltered against the north wind by the island, to which our
general now proceeded with thirty men all well armed. Here we found a
temple on which stood the great and abominable-looking god
Tetzcatlipuca, surrounded by four Indians, dressed in wide black cloaks,
and with flying hair, in the same way as our canons or Dominicans wear
it. These were priests, who had that very day sacrificed two boys, whose
bodies they had ripped up, and then offered their bleeding hearts to the
horrible idol. They were going to perfume us in the same way they had
done their gods; and though it smelt like our incense, we would not
suffer them, so shocked were we at the sight of the two boys whom they
had recently murdered, and disgusted with their abominations. Our
captain questioned the Indian Francisco whom we had brought with us from
the