accordingly set their canoes afloat, which lay in a hollow communicating with the river, and loaded them with the required provisions; but as Cortes did not release all the prisoners at once, and detained three men with their wives to bake some bread, the whole of the inhabitants again flew to arms, and showered forth their arrows, stones, and darts upon our troops, wounding twelve men, and Cortes himself in the face. During this skirmish one of the canoes upset, by which part of the provisions was lost, and one Mexican killed.
There were such swarms of moschitoes along the banks of this river as to render it impossible for a person to live there; but Cortes bore everything with patience, and returned to Buena Vista, which had never before been so well supplied with provisions. The last township, where the inhabitants had attacked Cortes, was called Cinacan, and considered to be about 280 miles from Guatimala. In this expedition up the river our general had spent twenty-six days; but, notwithstanding the fertility of the soil, he did not consider it an eligible spot for a colony, as the population of the country was too small. He therefore wrote word to Sandoval that he would shortly march to Naco himself, but that he was first desirous of making a short expedition to Puerto de Caballos, for which purpose he would require ten of the veterans of Guacasualco, without whom it was impossible to undertake anything which required activity and perseverance.