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 attempting to follow in the track of Cordova, was driven in sight of it. The itinerary of this voyage was kept by the chaplain-in-chief of the fleet, under the direction of Grijalva, and, with a collection of original narratives and memoirs, was published for the first time in 1838 at Paris. The itinerary opens thus: