rendering a great service to God and to Your Majesty in striving to liberate them from their imprisonment and captivity. He himself with the whole fleet would have gone immediately to rescue them, had not the pilots told him on no account to do this, as it would be the cause of the loss of the fleet and all the people of it, because the coast was very rough, as it really is, and has no port or any place where the ships could anchor. For this reason he abandoned the idea, and ordered that certain Indians, who had told him they knew that cacique with whom those Spaniards were, should go in a canoe; and he wrote to the Spaniards that the only reason why he gave up coming himself with his armada to liberate them was because the coast was very bad and rough for anchoring, but that he prayed them to strive for their liberation, and to escape in canoes, and that he should wait for them in the Island of Santa Cruz.
Three days after the said Captain had sent those Indians with his letters, as it appeared to him that he had not acted satisfactorily, and believing that those Indians would not know how to carry out his wishes, he determined to send forty Spaniards to the said coast with two brigantines, and a boat from his armada, so that they might recover those captive Spaniards if they could find them. With them he sent three other Indians, who should go ashore with another letter[1] of his to seek the Spanish prisoners. When those two brigantines and the
- ↑ Noble Sirs, — I left Cuba with a fleet of eleven ships, and five hundred Spaniards, and have arrived at Cozumel, whence I write you this letter.
The people of this island assure me that there are five or six bearded white men in this country, who greatly resemble us, and, I conjecture, though they can give me no other indications, that you are Spaniards. I, and the gentlemen, who have come with me to explore and take possession of these countries, earnestly beg you to come to us within five or six days after you receive this, without further delay or excuse.
If you will come, all of us will recognise, and thank you, for the
