Page:The Mastering of Mexico.djvu/53

Rh took possession of the land, and as soon as we did this our captain presented the Indians with some Spanish shirts and told them we wished to return to our ships. One of their number we took with us, and after he had learned our language he became a Christian named Francisco.

Further along the coast we sighted islands, among them one, about five miles from the shore, which offered us a very good roadstead. Here our captain gave orders for the ships to come to anchor, and after we had lowered boats many of us soldiers went aland, for we had seen smoke as we neared the shore. We found two strongly built stone houses, each with steps leading up to an altar, and on these altars idols of horrible shapes. Bodies of five natives still lay where the night before the papas had sacrificed them—their chests cut open, their arms and legs off, while the walls about were besmeared with blood. At all this we stood in utter amazement, and gave the island the name of Isla de Sacrificios.

Sailing onwards, we anchored opposite another island about two miles from the main land—at a harbor at present thought the best in the country, the port of Vera Cruz. When we were landed on the sands of this beach, swarms of mosquitos so annoyed us that we had to build huts on the great sand dunes, and in the tops of trees. From our boats we carefully examined the harbor and found that it had a