sea being shallow; and one league to the south of the western extremity of the island are two cays and many shallows, on which the sea breaks. Besides these there is another great shoal, called Samedina. The western part of the port of Utila is nearly north of the site of the abandoned town of Munguiche, on the coast of the main land.

year, the

This island of Utila has as many as twenty-two tributary Indians, who are encomendados of Andres Martinez de Zuñiga. From the excellence of its port, this island is frequented by our enemies; and lately, in the month of September of this entire town was burned by the Dutch, who, with a sloop and small coaster, in the months of July and August, made a reconnaissance of the coasts and islands of Honduras, landing in Puerto de Cavallos, and penetrating even to the warehouses, having with them persons who were able to show them the way. They went from these to the mouths of the rivers Ulua and Omoa, when a Spaniard, who discovered them, collected some Indians, who threatened them with their arrows from the shore, in consequence of which they did not land, but went to Point. Manarique, and encountered the vessels which were there discharging. They next sailed to Gulfo Dulce, leaving the coaster at its mouth, and entered with the sloop, with at least twenty men; but at the sound of the drums and arquebuses of the vessel of Captain Francisco de Santillan, they pretended to strike their flag, and by this trick captured one of Captain Santillanʼs men who came off to them, whom they tortured with fire. And these corsairs, who were Dutch and Flemings, examined their prisoner, and took down his declarations in writing; and, having cured him, they put him in an open canoe, to return to the Gulf of Dulce. The canoe was lost, but the man escaped. The corsairs then went to the port of Utila with the two vessels abovementioned; the sloop, it is said, carrying as many men as it could hold. After they had anchored, there arrived at the port the cacique of the island, and a free negro named Matheo Mandador, but who calls himself Matheo de Velasco; and as rowers of the canoe in which they came were two Guanaja Indians, one named Alonzo, grandson of the cacique of Guanaja (who, when he disembarked, went straight to the enemy), and the

other named Juan Redondo. These people were sent from Munguiche by Andres Martin, as encomendero of the island, to obtain cassava. When they found the enemy in the port, they hid their canoe in a nook, and landing, went into the woods, not, however, without seeing the village, which was then undisturbed, and in which they saw some of the Dutch wandering about without arms; but they saw no Indians, because these had retired inland to their corn-fields, whither also these Indians went with the negro, excepting, however, the said Alonzo, who went to the enemy. Next morning he appeared with not far from forty men, armed with pistols and pikes, who surrounded the Indians, and sought to kill the negro, who, however, with the Indian Juan Redondo, escaped, and returned to Munguiche, with nine others, in the canoe, and from thence they all went to Truxillo, where their declarations were taken. The enemy took the cacique of Utila, and kept him five days and nights on board the sloop, confining him during the night in chains. He saw on board the vessel an alcalde named Mexia, and another Indian of Guanaja, who said they were forced to come on board, and were kept below; but the aforesaid Alonzo was free. And during the five days of imprisonment, one of the corsairs, called Pedro, who spoke Spanish, and who declared he was a Catholic, said that he had been at the island before, and spoke of the events in the Gulf of Dulce, explaining that the sloop and coaster would sail to the Isle of Pines and coast of Havana, to join other vessels of their company, which were coming with large re-enforcements to aid in a general attack on the coast of Honduras during Lent of the coming year, 1640. And having put on shore the cacique, before hoisting sail the enemy burned the town of Utila, with its church; all of which is attested by the declarations of said cacique and of a regidor of the same island, by the negro Matheo, and Juan Redondo of Guanaja, all of whom are Ladinos, in the Castilian language.

From this island of Utila these corsairs went to Roata and burned that town, and thence to the port of Truxillo, anchoring off Punta Castilla for four days, whence, about the middle of September, they set sail in the direction of Guanaja, since which time nothing has been heard of them.

Such is the actual state of these islands, their capacities and their population, their demarcations and qualities, set forth in order that they may be populated or depopulated without delay.

Although De Avila refrained from making any recommendation on the subject, the depopulation of the islands was nevertheless resolved on and effected in 1642, when all the Indians except a few stragglers were carried off to the main land.

This movement was made none too soon; for, not satisfied with their depredations on the sea, the pirates, emboldened by success, began to make descents upon the land, and captured, pillaged, and burned almost every accessible city or town on the Spanish Main. They organized a system of land piracy, in many respects more terrible than that which they had practiced on the ocean. They made excursions into Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, as well as in the frontier provinces of New Granada and Mexico. They even made permanent stations at various secluded places on the main land and on the adjacent islands, where they rendezvoused after their various expedi tions, to divide the spoils, refit, and organize for new adventures. Bluefields and Cape Gracias á Dios on the Mosquito Shore, and that part of Guatemala now called Belize, were favorite localities with these outlaws. Bluefields and Belize both derive their names

from pirate chieftains.*

But the withdrawal of the Indians from the Guanajas did not have altogether the effect anticipated and desired. The excellent harbors, fine climate, and natural resources of those islands pointed them out as a convenient and commanding station for the freeboot

* Bluefields from Bleeveldt, a Dutch pirate, and Belize (Balis or Walis) from Wallace, a Scotch freebooter.

ers, and immediately after their evacuation in 1642, English detachments of that honorable fraternity established themselves on both Roatan and Guanaja. "These positions," says the historian Juarros, "were exceedingly advantageous to them, and proportionately injurious to the Spaniards, because, being near the main land, the pirates were enabled to make their de scents whenever they pleased, and with equal facility intercept the commerce between the kingdom of Guatemala and Spain." The annoyance from this source finally became so serious that the Viceroy of Guatemala, the Governor of Havana, and the President of the Audiencia Real of San Domingo, united in fitting out an expedition to expel the English from this stronghold. The expedition consisted of four ships of war, under the command of Francisco Villalva y Toledo, who endeavored to surprise the pirates, but failed in the attempt. He found the harbors fortified, and was obliged to bear away to the main land for re-enforcements. He subsequently returned, and in the month of March, 1650, after some hard fighting, succeeded in driving the freebooters from the island.

The Spanish regained possession of the islands only to find them a waste, and they seem to have remained deserted, or occupied by only a few planters and soldiers, until 1742, when the English entertained and attempted the project of obtaining possession of the whole Atlantic coast of Central America. In furtherance of this plan, they forcibly seized upon several important points of the main land, captured Truxillo, and made establishments and erected forts at the mouth of Black River. They also occupied Roatan, and fortified it with materials carried off from Honduras. These events, in conjunction with others, led to a war

with Spain, which lasted until 1763, when a treaty was concluded, the seventeenth article of which provided that "his Britannic majesty shall cause to be demolished all the fortifications which his subjects have erected in the Bay of Honduras, and other places of the territory of Spain in that part of the world, within four months," etc., etc. The forts at Black River and at other places were accordingly evacuated early in 1764. But, in violation of the treaty, the English seem to have continued their occupation of Roatan. They also kept up relations of an improper nature with the Indians on the coast, and engaged largely in smuggling, and in employments closely allied to piracy, which so exasperated Spain that in 1780 she once more declared war. The events which followed, so far as they concern these islands, are thus narrated by the Bishop Pelaez:

"On the 24th of September, 1781, advices reached Truxillo, which were immediately communicated to the government at Comayagua, that certain negroes and others, to the number of about 300 men, had constructed three forts at the entrance of the principal port of the island of Roatan, armed with 50 guns, and that three armed vessels cruised in the neighborhood, the object of the whole being to intercept the ships plying between the kingdom of Guatemala and Cuba. It was reported that these freebooters had 3000 barrels of provisions for their support, and that their object in holding the port was to make it a refuge for their vessels, which were no longer allowed to go.to Jamaica.

"When this information reached Guatemala, the President Galvez made arrangements to expel the intruders. He called out the militia of Amatitlan, Zacatepeque, Chiquimula, Santa Ana, San Salvador, Nueva Segovia, Leon, Olancho, Tegucigalpa, and Comayagua. The company from Leon numbered 200 men, under the command of Colonel Don Josef de Navas; San