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BOOK III. MARCH TO MEXICO. CHAPTER I. PROCEEDINGS AT CEMTOALLA—THE SPANIARDS CLIMB TIIE TA BLE-LAND—I»ICTURESQTJB SCENERY—TRANSACTIONS WITH THE NATIVES—EMBASSY TO TLASCALA. 1519. While at Ccrnpoalla, Cortes received a message from Escalante, his commander at Villa Rica, informing him there were four strange ships hovering off the coast, and that they took no notice of his repeated signals. This intelligence greatly alarmed the general, who feared they might be a squadron sent by the governor of Cuba to interfere with his movements. In much haste, he set out at the head of a few horsemen, and, ordering a party of light infantry to follow posted back to Villa, Rica. The rest of the army he left in charge of Alvarado and of Gonzalo de Sandoval, a young officer, who had begun to give evidence of the uncommon qualities which have secured to him so distinguished a rank among the conquerors of Mexico. Escalante would have persuaded the general, on his reaching the town, to take some rest, and allow him to go in search of the strangers; but Cortes replied with the homely proverb, “A wounded hare takes no nap,” and, without stopping to refresh himself or his men, pushed on three or four leagues to the north, where he understood the ships were at anchor. On the way, he fell in with three Spaniards, just landed from them. To his eager inquiries whence they came, they replied that they belonged to a squadron fitted out by Erancisco de Garay, governor of Jamaica. This person, the year previous, had visited the Florida coast, and obtained from Spain—where he had some interest at court— authority over the countries be might discover in that vicinity. The three men, consisting of a notary and two witnesses, had been sent on shore to warn tbeir countrymen under Cortes to desist from wliat was considered an encroachment on the territories of Garay. Probably neither the governor of Jamaica, nor his officers, had any very precise notion of the geography and limits of these territories. Cortes saw at once there was nothing to apprehend from this quarter. Ho would have been glad, however, if lie could, by any mean", have induced the crews of the ships to join his expedition. He f« nd no difficulty in persuading the notary and his companions. Rut wuen he came in sight of the vessels, the people on board, distrusting the good x.
