ey discovered a
town of the Cehaches, Chunpich, already abandoned, as they had heard
the rumor of the Spaniards, on account of which they found in one house
only twenty-five loads of maize. Seeing many traces of people, they
entered in fear, and notifying the said captain of their having
discovered the said town, they all asked him for reinforcements, since
they feared a hard fight. He gave them the reinforcements they asked
for, together with their arms, though they did not arrive in time,
since before they arrived there came as many as twenty-five Indians
with their baskets for that maize which they had left. The soldiers,
well prepared, carried their arms for whatever might turn up, since
going prepared with arms was always the cause of many victories as
opposed to many defeats. On the other hand they do less harm, the
better provided they are. So it happened to these men; since having
posted six Indian musketeers as sentinels in the direction they
supposed the ruined town lay, so as to defend themselves and the
workmen on the road, until their reinforcements arrived, it happened
that the sentinels, seeing the said twenty-five Indians coming, they
seemed to them to be thousands, and with the fear which never
accomplished a good thing and with their evil disposition, which always
has done much harm, without letting them enter so as to direct their
fire well, our men broke ranks, which not only gave our opponents a
better chance to get ready for a battle, but also frightening more the
rest of our men who became aware of the retreat, made them hastily and
heedlessly attribute the victory to our enemies. At that time, the
reinforcement of our men coming up, the timid sentinels, deserting
their posts, came back to make part of the reinforcement which was
coming to them. When all were together they rushed to battle, which our
opponents, like brave men, won finely, wounding three of our men
without any of them being wounded. The remainder of our men fled and
our opponents, laughing, left them and took their way with cries to
those forests by the path on which they all lived. Our men returned to
follow that path about four leagues; in that district they found two
towns without inhabitants, though they were well provided with farms
with all their products. These they ate and carried off as a token of
their valor, giving as an excuse of their unfortunate fight, that their
opponents were not men but demons, not endowed with reas