the vessel. One of the sailors, who had ventured with some others into the shallow water, was seized and devoured by one of these monsters; the rest would, no doubt, have shared a similar fate if they had not immediately hastened on board again. It was, therefore, with great difficulty and much risk the whole of the crew at length managed to get on to the island; but as they had thrown all their provisions and their water-casks overboard, they had at first nothing to eat or drink; at length, indeed, they managed to fish up a few pieces of their smoked meat from the sea. They would even have been without fire had it not been for two Cuba Indians, who, by rubbing two pieces of dry wood together, soon kindled a flame. After searching about for some time, they likewise had the good fortune to meet with fresh water; and as the island was small and very sandy, numbers of turtles came to lay their eggs in the sand. These creatures, which they found would lay one hundred eggs each, the two Indians of Cuba easily captured by turning them on their backs, so that they were unable to move. With these eggs, the flesh of the turtle, and of seals which came on land during the night, thirteen people nourished themselves for many days.
Among the hands on board this small vessel there happened to be two carpenters of Ribera, who had fortunately rescued their tools; it was therefore determined that they should construct a boat from the timber of the vessel. When they had finished and completely rigged this boat, a supply of turtles and smoked seals' flesh, with some water, was put on board, besides a sea-chart and a compass. With this frail bark, three Spanish sailors, and one of the Cuba Indians, boldly put out to sea in quest of some harbour of New Spain, whence they might send a vessel to the rescue of those left on the island. After encountering various kinds of weather, they at length arrived safe in the river Bandera, where at that time goods were landed from Spain. The three Spaniards immediately repaired to Medellin, where a certain Simon de Cuenca was Cortes' commandant, to whom they related their unfortunate shipwreck off the Viboras isles. Cuenca, on hearing this, fitted out a small vessel, which he