resents and dismissed them,
being in hopes to induce the natives of the town to return. Some time
afterwards, an Indian woman of a good person and handsome countenance
joined us, who spoke the language of Jamaica, which is the same with that
spoken in Cuba. She told us that she had left Jamaica two years before in
a canoe, with her husband and nine other men, intending to fish at certain
islands; but the currents had driven them to this place, where the natives
sacrificed her husband and all her other companions. Expecting that this
woman might prevail on the natives to return to the town, Grijalva sent
her away for that purpose, allowing two days for her return, but she came
back next day, saying that none of them could be prevailed upon to come.
At this place, named _Santa Cruz_, we found a great deal of honey in hives,
several kinds of vegetables, such as boniatos and potatoes, and many hogs
of the country, having their navel on their backs. There are two smaller
towns on this island, which we did not visit, being unwilling to lose time.
Following the course of Cordova, we arrived in eight days at
_Champoton_[1], where we cast anchor a league from the shore, on account
of the water being very shoal at low ebbs. We disembarked with half of our
soldiers close to the town, and the natives remembering their former
success against us, attacked us immediately with much military parade.
From our former experience, we took care to be well prepared on this
occasion, and accordingly had our boats armed with falconets[2]. Half of
our men were wounded before we could reach the shore: But having formed on
the beach, and being reinforced by a second disembarkation, we soon
defeated them, on which they fled to the marshes; yet we lost three of our
men, our captain receiving three arrows, and having two of his teeth
knocked out. On entering the town after the defeat of the natives, we
found it entirely deserted, the inhabitants having likewise removed all
their effects. We took three prisoners, whom we endeavoured to reconcile
by kind usage, and sent them with a message to bring back their countrymen;
but they never returned, and we suspected our interpreters of dealing
treacherously so as to counteract our wishes. The field in which we fought
with these Indians was very stony, and swarmed prodigiously with locusts,
and these animals sprung up in such numbers during the action, striking us
in the face, that we hardly knew when to raise