Chapter CLXXXI

_How Cortes embarks, with the soldiers who accompanied him on this
expedition, and with all the inhabitants of Buena Vista, for Puerto
de Caballos, where he founds a colony, to which he gives the name of
Natividad._

Our general, considering the spot where Avila had built the town of Buena Vista every way unfavorable for a colony, embarked, with the whole of the inhabitants, in two vessels and the brigantine, and set sail for the bay of Puerto de Caballos, where he arrived in the space of eight days. Finding that there was an excellent harbour in this bay, and having learnt from the Indians that there were numerous townships round about, he determined to found a colony in this place, to which he gave the name of Natividad, and appointed Diego de Godoy commandant of the town. He then made an excursion into the interior of the country to visit the several townships, but which, at the present day, are all destroyed. The inhabitants assured him that there were several other townships in the neighbourhood, and that Naco itself was not far off. He well stocked the new town with provisions, and wrote word to Sandoval, whom he imagined had already reached Naco, to send him ten of the men of Guacasualco, without whom, he particularly remarked in his letter, no undertaking could well succeed. From this place, he added, it was his intention to repair to the bay of Honduras, in order to visit the new town of Truxillo; and concluded by saying he was to continue the conquest of the country, and to leave a settlement in some advantageous place. Sandoval received this letter in the township where we had first halted, for we had not yet broken up our quarters for Naco. At present, therefore, we will leave Cortes in Puerto de Caballos, where, as we understood, the inhabitants were so dreadfully tormented night and day by innumerable moschitoes that every comfort was destroyed.

On the receipt of Cortes' letter, Sandoval would gladly that instant have set out for Naco if he had not previously despatched a great part of his troops into the surrounding townships in search of provisions and fodder for our horses. He was therefore compelled to await the return of these troops, which, moreover, had been detained in passing a river, where they had left a small detachment to guard the canoe that had ferried them across. Besides this, Sandoval had had daily skirmishes with the Indians of the townships lying on the Golfo Dulce, so that he deemed it necessary to send a further reinforcement of eight men, under my command, as a further guard to the canoe. Here we were obliged to observe the utmost vigilance, for one night a great body of Indians fell suddenly upon us, in the hopes, if they found us off our guard, to capture the canoe and set fire to our huts. However silently they came creeping along, we received timely notice of their approach, and we eight men, with four Mexicans, boldly advanced against them, and quickly sent them back from whence they came, though two Spaniards and one of the Mexicans were slightly wounded by the enemy's arrows. Upon this three of us marched further on to some huts where several invalid Mexicans and Spaniards had remained behind. These people we conducted safely to Sandoval, with the exception of one Spaniard, who died of exhaustion a couple of miles from the township, where the former was quartered with the rest of the troops. This soldier was one of those who had but recently arrived from Spain, and we were obliged to leave his body on the road from want of sufficient hands to carry it.

When I had given Sandoval my report of everything that had befallen us on our march, he was excessively angry with us for not having brought the dead body either on our shoulders or on one of the horses. I told him very coolly that each of the horses as it was had carried two sick persons, and that we ourselves had been obliged to walk on foot. One of my companions, however, a certain Villa Nueva, was not quite so cool as myself, but told Sandoval in a passion that we had trouble enough to drag ourselves along without loading ourselves with the dead, and as for himself he was perfectly tired of the many fatigues he had to undergo in the service of Cortes, and that all for nothing. Sandoval, however, persisted that we should turn back and bury the dead body. Villa Nueva and myself accordingly took two Mexicans and a spade with us, dug a deep hole, in which we put our deceased companion, and placed a cross on it. In one of his pockets we found a little gold, a number of dice, and a small scrap of paper containing an account of his birthplace, his parents, and of some property which he possessed in the island of Teneriffe. This document we subsequently forwarded to the latter place. May God have mercy on his soul: Amen.

We now marched further on to some townships, in the neighbourhood of which gold mines were discovered three years afterwards. From this place we came to Quinistan, and the following day in the forenoon we arrived at Naco, which at that time was a township of considerable magnitude, but there was not a single inhabitant to be seen, and we quartered ourselves in a large courtyard, where Christobal de Oli was beheaded. In some houses we were fortunate enough to find a good supply of maise, beans, and even some salt, of which latter we were in great want. In this place we quartered ourselves as comfortably as if we never meant to leave the spot again.

In Naco there was a well which contained the most delicious water I ever tasted in the New World. Here likewise stood a wide spreading tree, under the shade of which, even during the hottest part of the day, the air was so cool that our very hearts became refreshed and invigorated. From this tree there also continually fell a very delicate dew, which produced a most comfortable feeling to the head. The surrounding neighbourhood abounded in various kinds of provisions, and numerous small townships lay dispersed in all directions. But I will break off here, and reserve what I have further to relate for the next chapter.