OLMEDO PREACHES TO THE INDIANS. 



23 



more powerful than the sermon. The idolatrous practices of the 

 inhabitants of Cozumel shocked the sensibility of the commander, 

 and he set about the work of christianization through the labors 

 of the licentiate Juan Diaz and Bartolome de Olmedo, the latter 

 of whom, — who remained with the army during the whole expe- 

 dition, — was, indeed, a mirror of zeal and charity. The discourses 

 of these worthy priests were, however, unavailing ; — the Indians, 

 who of course could not comprehend their eloquent exhortations 

 or pious logic, refused to abandon their idols ; and our hero 

 resolved at once to convince them, by palpable arguments, of the 

 inefficiency of those hideous emblems, either to save themselves 

 from destruction, or to bestow blessings on the blind adorers. An 

 order was, therefore, forthwith given for the immediate destruction 

 of the Indian images ; and, in their place, the Virgin and her Son 

 were erected on a hastily constructed altar. Olmedo and his 

 companion were thus the first to offer the sacrifice of the mass in 

 New Spain, where they, finally, induced numbers of the aborigines 

 to renounce idolatry and embrace the Catholic faith. 



In spite of this marauding crusade against their property and 

 creed, the Indians kindly furnished the fleet with provisions, which 

 enabled the squadron to sail in the ensuing March. But a leak 

 in one of the vessels compelled the adventurers to return to port, — 

 a circumstance which was regarded by many as providential, — 

 inasmuch as it was the means of restoring to his countryman, a 

 Spaniard, named Aguilar, who had been wrecked on the coast of 

 Yucatan eight years before. The long residence of this person in 

 the country made him familiar with the language of the inhabitants 

 of that neighborhood, and thus a valuable interpreter, — one of its 

 most pressing wants, — was added to the expedition. 



After the vessels were refitted, Cortez coasted the shores of 

 Yucatan until he reached the Rio de Tabasco or Grijalva, where 

 he encountered the first serious opposition to the Spanish arms. 

 He had a severe conflict, in the vicinity of his landing, with a 

 large force of the natives ; but the valor of his men, the terror 

 inspired by fire arms, and the singular spectacle presented to the 

 astonished Indians by the extraordinary appearance of cavalry, 

 soon turned the tide of victory in his favor. The subdued tribes 

 appeased his anger by valuable gifts, and forthwith established 

 friendly relations with their dreaded conqueror. Among the 

 presents offered upon this occasion by the vanquished, were 

 twenty female slaves ; — and after one of the holy fathers had 



