Ottr Catholic Heritage 111. Texas
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Indians was relaxed, and no sooner were the Spaniards seated at the festive board than the Indians gave a wild whoop and showered hundreds of arrows upon them. The men sprang to their feet, the crossbows were brought into action with deadly precision, and the Indians finding unfore- seen and determined resistance, fell back to a safe distance, leaving three of their number dead upon the sand. 11 It should be noted that for six days the Spaniards had seen no Indians. This may be taken as an indication that they were on Padre Island, as already suggested, rather than on the mainland. It is a known fact that the coastal Indians of this region lived on the mainland and went over to the islands along the coast at intervals to fish and to pillage such ships as were wrecked on the seashore, an occurrence that was more common than has generally been believed. Viceroy Mendoza in the instructions left to his successor, Don Luis de Velasco, expressly refers to this fact and explains the policy he had adopted for the recovery of the mer- chandise lost on this fateful coast of Texas, which he calls Florida, a name applied then to the entire coast from Panuco to Florida, pointing out the manner of its restitution to the merchants in New Spain. 12 The Indians who attacked them with so much craftiness were barbarous in the extreme, having neither houses, nor pueblos, nor patches of corn, nor cultivated lands, nor clothes of any kind, declares one of the chroni- clers of the event.13 To this Davila Padilla adds that they were as fleet as deer and that they hovered on the rear and flanks of the disheartened survivors, harassing them with their unfailing arrows, first from one direction and then from another. The absence of firearms seems to have emboldened the natives greatly, who were held in check only by the deadly precision of the crossbows which found their target at a range longer Hostilities having broken out, it was decided to try to reach the Panuco River, which was firmly believed to be not more than four or five days' journey from where they were. To remain was to expose themselves to a new attack by the Indians. Either, because of than that of the arrows. 14 Hardships of tlie marclz. 11 The main details of the hardships endured by the survivors of the rich fleet are taken from the fullest account of the incidents given by Davila Padilla, who obtained them from Fray Marcos de Mena, Dominican, one of the only two sur- vivors ever to return to Mexico. Davila Padilla, F1111dacion, 273-286. 12 l nstr11cciones q11e los Vireyes de Nue-110 Espa,ia dejaron a sus s11cesores, I, 40-4 I.
13 Darcia, Ensayo Cronologico, 29. 14 D:lvila Padilla, op. cit., 27 5-276.
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