HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CONQUEST OF YUCATAN AND OF THE ITZAS

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urged him to use force and thereby to conquer the Itzas finally. Ursua
was still determined, however, to maintain peace as long as possible,
being mindful of the King's wish.

On the following day, March 13, 1697, Ursua determined to go to the
Peten Grande, which lay two leagues from his camp. Leaving a good
garrison in the camp, he took two hundred men and Don Martin Can in the
boats and sailed for Peten. Before long the Spaniards, who were under
the strictest orders not to fire, were surrounded by a large fleet of
canoes filled with Itzas, who shot arrows at the invaders. As one would
naturally expect, all attempts to reason with the outraged Itzas proved
futile. Finally one Bartolome Duran, maddened by an arrow wound, fired
off his gun. This precipitated a hot skirmish in which everyone took
part. At the end of it the Spaniards got upon the shore, and by means
of the artillery at length put the Itzas to flight. The latter fled
away as fast as they could by swimming, and when in due time Ursua and
his men got to Peten Grande, they found nothing but old women and