that he expected they would give us a supply of
provisions in return for our beads. Two these men, one a priest and
another a chief, made answer that they would willingly barter with us and
give us provisions, but that they had a sovereign of their own, and
advised us not to repeat the unseasonable demand of submission to our
prince, lest they should attack us as had been done at Pontonchan, having
two _xiquipils_ of warriors of 8000 men each: Yet, though confident in
their superior force, they had come to treat with us amicably, and would
report our proposal to their chiefs, after which they would bring their
decision, and inform us whether it was to be peace or war between us.
Grijalva embraced them in token of peace, and gave them several strings of
beads, requesting them to bring a speedy answer, which they promised, and
soon did, assuring us in name of their chiefs, of peace and concord; in
token of which thirty Indians came soon afterwards, loaded with broiled
fish, fowls, fruit, bread made of maize, and vessels with lighted coals to
fumigate us with certain perfumes. They then spread a mat on the ground,
which they covered with a mantle, on which they laid some golden toys made
in form of birds and lizards, and three strings of gold beads, desiring us
to accept these presents in a friendly manner, being all the gold they
could collect, which did not exceed the value of 200 crowns. They added
that there was abundance of gold to be had farther west, repeating several
times _Mexico_ and _Culua_, words which we did not then understand. We
were well satisfied with this proof that the country produced gold; and we
hastened to quit our present anchorage, as a gale from the north was
likely to happen, and might have proved fatal to the expedition.

Two days sail from Tabasco, we arrived opposite to a town called
_Aguayaluco_, which we named _la Rambla_, where we observed many of the
inhabitants armed with shields of tortoise-shell, which the soldiers
believed to have been gold, from being polished and shining in the sun. We
came next to the mouth of the river Farole, which we named St Antonio.
Whence we continued our course by the mouth of the great river
_Coatzacualco_, observing a distant range of high mountains covered with
perpetual snow, and others nearer the sea, which we named the ridge of St
Martin, as being first noticed by a soldier of that name. At this time
Alvarado discovered a river called _Papaloapan_ by the