Page:About Mexico - Past and Present.djvu/136



ENTURIES had passed since Feathered Serpent sailed from Mexico to his unknown home in the East. His was probably the last pale face seen in that part of the continent until Columbus, searching for a gateway to India, coasted along Honduras in 1504.

It will be remembered that on this voyage the Spanish vessels, which had stopped at an island to fill their water-casks, saw a large canoe coming landward, probably on the same errand. It brought a trading-party of Indians from some point on the mainland. The first glimpse which Europeans had of Mexico was gained from the account which these voyagers gave. For fifteen years, or more, however, no effort was made to follow up this clue. Meanwhile, the Mexican traders went home with news which must have thrilled every gossip in all that region. Not one of their party had seen a white man before. The bearded sailors, their white-winged ships, the strange goods offered in barter, together with the fact that they hailed from the East, stirred anew the hope cherished by many thoughtful Mexicans that Feathered Serpent was about to fulfill his promise to return, gather his followers about him, and once more become the leader and the benefactor of their long oppressed and divided people.