h which
the Spaniards were taking, in order to verify my suspicions; but it
verified nothing but constant misfortunes; since on the path I met four
Indian musketeers of the town of Sahcabchen, whom their captain was
sending as slaves to the quiet of his house. They brought me a letter
from the Captain, Don Joseph de Estenos, in which he told me that he
had found three other towns without inhabitants, though with some
little rotten corn; and that the third leader, Don Pedro de Suviaur by
name, had gone with his men to another town which they supposed
belonged to the Ytzaes. This letter reached me a league and a half from
Chunpich, at a very large _aguada_ which there is there, and at three
long leagues from there is another large abandoned town called Ixbam."

Zuviaur Goes to the Itzas; the Padres Return. "I returned unhappy when
I thought of the little result which had come in the said town of
Chunpich, and I took pleasure in its suburbs to divert my sorrow, since
this place is very pleasant. A lake lies towards the West, so large
that it stretches out of sight. The water is very good, the two other
towns of which I spoke above being around the said lake. The Spaniards
found these at the time of the fight, all very full of fruits and
abundant corn-fields, which the captain wished to have trampled down
and destroyed so that their owners might come and give themselves up.
But we did not consent to this; I was taking great pleasure in looking
at the said lake, when an Indian came whom I had sent to camp, with
letters from the Governor, and besides confirming the news which the
said Captain, Don Joseph, had written me, he stated to me that he had
known how the third leader Don Pedro de Zuviaur had gone to one of the
towns of the Ytzaes. I regretted this last more than the rest, since I
was holding the said towns reserved for the purpose of going to them
without their hearing any rumors of soldiers.... I returned more sad
than I had been at first. I went to the town of Tzucthok, where my
companion Padres were, looking after the management of those Indians
who had been allotted to me.... As I considered our work useless, since
they had depopulated eight towns of the Cehaches, without any results,
to see also that they had reached the Ytzaes, whom also they were going
to spoil was the cause of the greatest sorrow."

Further Troubles. "I discussed with my companion Padres the troubles
which followed,--now on account of the