CHAPTER XII.
NEW SPAIN.
THE work accomplished by the army since leaving Cuba might well encourage Cortez to hope that his expedition, so far as missionary work was concerned, would be entirely successful. The idols of Cozumel, that famous heathen shrine, had been demolished, the Virgin and saints had been set up in their places, and the people had consented to sacrifice to them rather than to their old gods.
Leaving this hospitable place, the fleet sailed for Tabasco. Grijalva's reception here not long before had been very cordial, but the natives seemed to have changed their minds after he had gone. They eyed the Spaniards suspiciously through the loopholes of a strong timber wall which surrounded their town, and took all night to consider the polite request which Cortez sent, to be allowed to land to get water and provisions. Meanwhile, the women and the children had been stealthily carried to a safe place in the mountains, and the warriors of the tribe rallied to defend the place.
Finding that he was not welcome in the town, Cortez landed a short distance below it, on a small wooded island. Here, on a great ceyba tree, he made three cuts with his sword, to signify that he had taken possession of the country for his sovereign and the pope of Rome. The
