CHAPTER VI.

_How twenty of us went on shore in the bay of Florida with the pilot

Alaminos in search of water; the hostilities which the natives of

this country commenced with us; and of all that further befel us on

our passage to the Havannah._

As soon as we had arrived off the coast of Florida we determined that

twenty of our men, who had almost recovered from their wounds, should go

on shore. Among the number was myself and the pilot, Alaminos. We each

took a mattock and a small cask, being, moreover, well armed with

crossbows and muskets. Our captain, who was dangerously wounded and very

much weakened by the extreme thirst he suffered, begged of us, in the

name of God, to bring him some sweet water, as he was almost dying of

thirst. Indeed, the water, as I have before said, which we then had was

quite salty and not drinkable. We landed in a creek, and our pilot again

recognized this coast, which he had visited ten or twelve years

previously with Ponce de Leon, when he discovered these countries. They

had here fought a battle with the natives, and lost many of their men.

We therefore took every precaution lest the natives should also fall

upon us unawares. We posted two sentinels at a spot where the stream had

a considerable breadth. We then dug deep wells where we thought fresh

water was likely to be found. The sea was just ebbing, and it pleased

God that we should find sweet water there.

With joyful hearts we then took our fill of the refreshing beverage, and

washed the bandages of our wounded. A good hour's time was spent in

this, and as we were on the point of re-embarking with the casks of

water, quite overjoyed at our success, one of the men whom we had placed

sentinel on the coast came running towards us in all haste, crying

aloud, "To arms! to arms! numbers of Indians are approaching, both by

land and sea." And indeed the Indians came up to us almost at the same

time with the sentinel.

They had immense sized bows with sharp arrows, lances, and spears--among

these some were shaped like swords--while their large powerful bodies

were covered with skins of wild beasts. They made straightways to us,

let fly their arrows, and wounded six of our men at the first onset. I

was also slightly wounded in my right arm. We, however, received our

enemies with such well-directed blows and musket-shots that they very

soon quitted us who had been digging the wells, and turned towards the

creek to assist their companions who in their canoes were attacking

those left behind in the boat. The latter had been forced to fight man

to man, and had already lost the boat, which the Indians were towing off

behind their canoes. Four of the sailors had been wounded, and the

pilot, Alaminos, himself severely so in the throat. We, however,

courageously faced our enemy, went up to our middles in the water, and

soon compelled them, by dint of our swords, to jump out of the boat

again. Twenty-two of the enemy lay dead on the shore; three others, who

were slightly wounded, we took on board with us, but they died soon

after.

After this skirmish was ended, we questioned the soldier who had stood

sentinel as to what had become of his companion, Berrio. He related that

his comrade had left him with an axe in his hand, in order to go and cut

down a palm-tree, and that this was near the inlet where the Indians

first made their appearance. He had also heard him cry out in Spanish,

upon which he himself had immediately hastened to give us the

information. His companion, no doubt, had been murdered by the Indians.

Singular that this man should have lost his life here, he being the only

one who escaped without a wound at the battle of Potonchan. We made

every search for him, and followed the track of the Indians who had just

attacked us; this indeed led us to a palm-tree which had been recently

cut, around which were numerous foot-marks. We could, however, discover

no marks of blood; and concluded, therefore, that the Indians had

carried off the man alive. After we had fruitlessly searched for him in

every quarter for upwards of an hour, and repeatedly called out aloud to

him, without receiving any answer, we returned to our boat, and brought

the water on board. The joy of our men was as great as if we had brought

them new life; and one of the soldiers, from excessive thirst, leaped

from the vessel into the boat, seized one of the small casks, and poured

such an abundance of water into his body, that he instantaneously

swelled out and expired.

Having brought the water on board our vessels, hauled in our boats, we

hoisted our sails and stood direct for the Havannah. The day and

following night the weather was most beautiful as we passed the Martyr

Islands and sand-banks of the same name. We had only four fathoms water,

where the sea was deepest; our principal ship consequently struck

against the rocks and became very leaky, so that all hands were engaged

at the pumps, without then being able to get the water under, while we

every moment feared the vessel would go down. I never shall forget the

answer which some sailors from the Levant, who were among the crew, made

when we cried out to them: "Come on, my boys, help us to pump out the

water, or we shall all be lost! you see how our wounds and hard labour

have debilitated us." "That's your own look out," said they; "we get no

pay, suffer both from hunger and thirst, and have, in the bargain, to

share your fatigues and wounds." Nothing now remained but to drive them

to the pumps by main force; and in this way we had alternately to work

the sails and the pumps, however distasteful to us, until the Lord Jesus

brought us into the port of Carena, where now the town of Havannah

stands, the latter being previously called Puerto de Carenas, and not

the Havannah.

As soon as we had set foot on shore we returned thanks to the Almighty

for our safe return, and got the water out of our principal ship, in

which a Portuguese diver, who happened to be on board another vessel,

greatly assisted us. We also immediately wrote to the governor, Diego

Velasquez, giving him an account of the countries we discovered with

large townships and houses built of stone, whose inhabitants were clad

in cotton, and wore maltates; likewise of the gold and the regular

maise-plantations of the country. Our captain journeyed overland to

Santispiritus, where he had his Indian commendary: he died, however, ten

days after his arrival there, from his wounds. The rest of our men

became dispersed through the island, and three more of our men died of

their wounds at the Havannah.

Our vessels were taken to Santiago de Cuba, where the governor resided.

Here the two Indians were brought on shore whom we had taken with us

from the Punta de Cotoche, as above related, called Melchorillo and

Julianillo. When, however, we brought forth the box with the crowns, the

golden ducks, the fish, and the idols, more noise was made about them

than they really merited, so that they became the common topics of

conversation throughout the islands of St. Domingo and Cuba; indeed the

fame thereof even reached Spain. There it was said that none of the

countries which had hitherto been discovered were as rich as this, and

in none had there been found houses built of stone. The earthen gods, it

was said, were the remains of the ancient heathen times; others again

went so far as to affirm that they were descendants of the Jews whom

Titus and Vespasian had driven from Jerusalem, who had been shipwrecked

off this coast. Peru, indeed, was not then known, and in so far the

countries we had discovered were justly considered of the greatest

importance. Diego Velasquez closely questioned the two Indians as to

whether there were any gold mines in their country. They answered in the

affirmative; and when they were shown some of the gold-dust found in the

island of Cuba, they said there was abundance of it in their country. In

this they told an untruth, as it is very well known there are neither

goldmines on the Punta de Cotoche nor even in whole Yucatan. They were

likewise shown the beds in which the seeds of that plant are sown from

whose root the cassave bread is made, and in Cuba called yuca: they

assured us that the same plant grew in their country, and was called by

them tale. As the cassave-root at Cuba is called yuca, and the ground in

which it is planted by the Indians tale, so from these two words arose

the name of the country, Yucatan; for the Spaniards who were standing

around the governor at the time he was speaking to the two Indians said,

"You see, sir, they call their country Yucatan." And from this

circumstance the country retained the name of Yucatan, although the

natives call it otherwise.

In this beautiful voyage of discovery we had spent our all, and returned

to Cuba covered with wounds, and as poor as beggars; yet we had reason

to congratulate ourselves that it had not been equally disastrous to us

all as to many of our companions who had lost their lives. Our captain,

as I have already mentioned, died soon after his return; and all of us

suffered for a considerable time after from our wounds. Our whole loss

amounted to seventy men, which was all we had gained by this voyage of

discovery.

Concerning all this the governor Diego Velasquez wrote to those

gentlemen in Spain who at that time managed the affairs of India, and

boasted of the discoveries _he_ had made, and of the vast expense it had

put _him_ to. This actually obtained credit, and the bishop of Burgos,

Don Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, who also bore the title of archbishop of

Rosano, and was president of Indian affairs, wrote in that strain to his

majesty, in Flanders, vastly extolling the merit of Diego Velasquez, at

the same time not as much as even mentioning the names of any of us who

had really discovered the country.

I will, however, break off here, and relate in the following chapter

what further fatigues I and three more of my companions in arms had to

undergo.