Francisco López de Gómara - The pleasant historie of the conquest of the VVeast India, now called new Spayne

Worshipful sirs, I departed from Cuba with eleuen saile in my fléete, furnished with fiue hundred and fiftie Spaniardes, and I arriued here at Acusamil from whence I write you this letter. The people of this Ilād haue certifyed me, that there is in that countrey fiue or sixe bearded men, and in al pointes like vnto vs: they can not here enforme me of anye other signes or tokens, but hereby I do coniecture, and certainely beleue that ye be Spaniards. Both I and these gentlemen of my company do come to discouer and inhabit this land, we hartily pray you y twithin sixe days after the receite hereof, ye come vnto vs, w tout any excuse or delay, and if ye so doe, al we of this nauie wil gratifye your gentlenesse & good seruice y tye shal do vnto vs. I do send you a Vergantyn wherin you may come, & two shippes for your safeconduct.

This letter being written, there was found an inconuenience, which was, they knew not how to carrye the letter so secretly y tit might not be séene, & they taken for espies, wherof the saide Indians stoode in great feare. Thē Cortez bethought him, y tthe letter wold passe wrapped in y ehaire of the head of one of thē, for ordinarily the Indians wear lōg heare, & on their solemn feasts & in wars they vse their haire platted & boūd about their forheads. And he appointed captaine of the Vergantine wherin y emessēgers wēt, Iohn de Escalante , & Iames de Ordas for captaine of the other two ships, with fiftie men if any nede should happen. So shortly after the ships arriued at the place appointed, Escalante set a land his messengers, and abode there eight days they returne, although he promised thē to abide there but sixe dayes. And thē séeing that they came not, he surmysed y tthey were either slaine or taken captiues: & so returned backe againe to Acusamill without his messēgers, wherof al the army were sorowful, & chiefly Cortez , thinking that the Indians had wrōg enformed him. Nowe in this meane season they trymmed their shippes of the hurte receiued by the late tempest, & at the returne of the two ships and Vergantyne, they hoysed vp sailes and departed.

Calachuni and all his subiectes were full of heauinesse (as it semed) with the departure of the Christians, bycause they were wel vsed at their handes. From Acusamil the fleete sayled to get the coast of Yucatan to the cape called Womens point, with prosperous weather, & there Cortez came to an Anker, desirous to sée the disposition of the lande, and the manner of the people: but it liked him not, so that y enext day folowing being shrouetuisday, he departed, meaning to double the sayde cape, and so to passe to Cotoche and to viewe it. But before they hadde doubled the poynte, Peter de Aluarado shotte off a piece, in token that hee was in great peril, wherevppon the other shippes drewe neare to knowe what hadde happened: And when Cortez vnderstoode that Aluarados shippe was in so great a leake that with two pumpes they mighte not emptie the water, he found no other remedy but to returne backe again to Acusamil with al his fléet. The Indians of y tIlande came incontinent to y ewater side very ioyfull, and to knowe whether they had left any thing behind thē. The Christiās enformed thē of their mishap, and came a shore, & in short time found the leake & amended it. The Saterday following they toke shipping again, al the army excepte Hernando Cortez , and fiftie of his company, then the wind arose contrary, and so much, that they could not departe that day: & the furie of the winde endured al that night, but in the morning it waxed calme, so that they myghte proceede on their voyage. But for as much as that was the Sabboth daye, they determined to heare diuine seruice, and after dinner to make saile. When their seruice was ended, and Cortez sitting at his meate, there was newes brought him that a little vessell called a Canoa , came vnder saile toward the shippes, whiche seemed to come from Yucatan : with that newes Cortez arose from his meate, to behold whether the Canoa went, and perceiuyng that she left the way toward the shippes, he sente Andrew de Tapia with certaine others, as secrete & closely as might be deuised, to lye in ambushe for their comming a shoare. The Canoa arriued in a calme place, out of the which came foure men all naked, except their priuie members, and the heare of their heades platted and bound aboute their foreheades like vnto women, with bowes and arrowes in their hands: three of them which were Indians , wer afraide when they saw the Spaniards with their drawen swordes, and would haue fled againe to their Canoa , but the Christian feared not, and desired his fellowes in the Indian tong to abide with hym. And then he began to speake in the Spanish tongue in thys wise: Maisters are ye Christians, yea (quoth they) and of the Spanish nation. Then he reioyced so much, that the teares fell from his eyes, and demaunded of them what day it was, although he had a Primer wherein he dayly prayed.

He then besought them earnestlye to assist him with their prayers & thanksgiuing vnto god for his deliuery, & kneling deuoutly downe vppon his knees, holding vp his handes, his eyes toward heauen, and his face bathed with teares, made his humble prayer vnto God, giuing most hartie thankes, that it hadde pleased hym to deliuer him out of the power of Infidels and infernal creatures, and to place hym among Christians and men of his owne nation. Andrew de Tapia holpe hym vppe, and toke hym in hys armes, and so did al y eothers embrace & louingly salute him. Then he commaunded the other thrée Indians to follow him, and went talking wyth hys friendes, where Cortez aboade, who receyued him ioyfully, and gaue vnto hym such apparel as he néeded, and wyth great pleasure hauing him in his companye, hee demaunded the estate of his misfortune, and what was hys name, who aunswered before them al, saying, Sir my name is Geronimo de Aguilar , I was borne in the Cittie of Esija in the Andolozia , and by misfortune I was loste after this sorte. In the warres of Darien and in the time of the contentions and passions of Iames de Nicuessa , and Vasco Nonez Balboa , I came with Captaine Valdinia in a little Caruell, toward Santo Domingo , to giue aduice to the Admirall and gouernour, of the troubles which had happned, and my comming was for men and victuals: and likewise we brought twentye thousand Duckettes of the kings in Anno .1511. And whē we apported at Iamayca , our Caruel was lost on the shallowes whiche were called the Vipars, and with greate pain we entred (about twenty persons) into the boate, w tout sayle, water or bread, and weake prouision of oares: we thus wander thirtéene or fourtéene dayes, and then the currant, whiche is there very great & runneth alway weastward, cast vs a shoare in a prouince called Maija , & traueling on our way, seauen of our fellowes died wyth hunger & famin. And captain Valdinia & other 4. were sacrifised to the ydols by a cruel and cursed Cacike , that is to say, a Lord in whose power we fell .&c.

And after the sacrifice, they were eaten among the Indians for a solemne banket: and I, and other sixe wer put into a Cage or coupe, to be fatned for an other sacrifice. And for to escape suche abhominable death, we brake the prison and fledde through certaine mountaines: So that it pleased God that wee mette with another Cazike who was enimy to him that first toke vs, his name was Quinqus , a man of more reason and better condition, hee was Lord of Xamansana : he accepted vs for his captiues, but shortly after he dyed, and then I aboad with Taxmar his heire. Then deceased other fiue of our fellowes, so that there remayned but onely I and one Gonsalo Guerrer , a maryner, who now abydeth with Nachancan the Lorde of Chetemal , and he married with a rich gentlewoman of that countrey, by whom he hath children, and is made a Captaine, and wel estéemed with the Cazike for the victories y the hath had in the wars against the other Lords. I sent vnto him your worships letter, desiring him that he would come with me hauing so fit a passage, but he refused my request, I belieue for verye shame, bycause hee had his nose ful boared of holes, & his eares iagged, hys face & handes painted according to the vse of y tcountrey, or else he abode there for the loue he bare to his wife and children. All those whiche stoode by & hard this Historie, were amased, to heare Geronimo de Aguilar report howe those Indians did sacrifise & eate mans flesh. They also lamented the miserie & death of his fellowes, and highly praysed God, to sée him frée frō his bondage & from such cruel & barbarous people, & to haue likewise so good an enterpreter with thē, for vndoubtedly it semed a miracle y t Aluarados ship fel into a leak, for with y textremity they returned back again to that Iland, wheras with contrarie winde they were constrayned to abide y ecōming of Aguilar . And certainly he was y emean & spéech of al their procéedings. And therfore haue I bin so prolixious in y erehearsal of this matter, as a notable point of this historie. Also I wil not let to tell how the mother of Geronimo de Aguilar , became mad .&c.