e clearing, which was
covered with a fine plantation of cotton, worth, as the patron said,
several hundred dollars, with the pods open and blowing away,
indicating that the rancho had been abandoned in haste, without regard
to the preservation of property. Toward evening we strolled for a great
distance along the shore, picking up shells, and at night we had a
luxurious swing in our hammocks.

CHAPTER XX.

A crippled Dog.--Island of Cozumel known to the Natives by the Name of
Cuzamil.--Discovered by Juan De Grijalva.--Extracts from the Itinerary
of his Voyage.--Towers seen by the Spaniards.--An ancient Indian
Village.--Temples.--Idols prostrated by the Spaniards.--Present State
of the Island.--Overgrown with Trees.--Terrace and Building.--Another
Building.--These Buildings probably the Towers seen by the
Spaniards.--Identical with those on the Mainland.--Ruins of a Spanish
Church.--Its History unknown.--Vanity of Human Expectations.--Opinion
of the old Spanish Writers.--Their Belief that the Cross was found
among the Indians as a Symbol of Christian Worship.--The "Cozumel
Cross" at Merida.--Platform in Front of the Church.--Square
Pillars.--Once supported Crosses.--The Cozumel Cross one of them.--The
Cross never recognised by the Indians as a Symbol of Worship.--Rare
Birds.--A Sudden Storm.--The Canoa in a Strait.--Fearful Apprehensions.

The next morning, while breakfasting on the old hatch, we saw a dog
peering at us from a distance, as if wishing, but fearful to approach.
The poor, beast was crippled, limped badly, and had his fore shoulder
horribly mangled, the patron said by an encounter with a wild boar. We
endeavoured to entice him to us, but, after looking at us a few
moments, he went away, and never came near us again. No doubt he was
one of the five left by Don Vicente Albino, and, abandoned once, he had
lost all confidence in man. In a few years, if these are not eaten up
by stronger beasts, a race of wild dogs may inhabit this deserted
island.

The island of Cozomel, as it is now called, was known to the natives by
the name of Cuzamil, signifying in their language the Island of
Swallows. Before setting out from home I had fixed upon this island as
one of the points of our journey. My attention was directed to it by
the historical accounts of its condition when it first became known to
the Spaniards. It was discovered accidentally in 1518 by Juan de
Grijalva, who, in