# Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2/Fourth Letter, October 15, 1524

Contents
FOURTH LETTER
Very High, very Powerful, and most Excellent Prince very Catholic and Invincible Emperor, King and Lord.
In the account which I sent to Your Majesty by Juan de Ribera, concerning what had happened to me in these parts after the second letter I despatched to Your Highness, I said that, in order to pacify and reduce to the royal service of Your Majesty the Provinces of Guatusco, Tuxtepeque, Quatasca, and others in the neighbourhood, which are on the South Sea and which since the revolt were in rebellion, I had sent the alguacil mayor thither with some people; I told what had happened to him on the road; and also that I had ordered him to make a settlement in those provinces and to name the town Medellin. It now remains that Your Highness should know how the said town was founded and all that country and its provinces subdued and pacified. I sent him reinforcements, and ordered him to go up the coast to the province of Guazacualco, which is fifty leagues from where that town was founded and one hundred and twenty from this city; for, when I was in this city while Montezuma was still alive, striving to discover all the secrets of these parts in order to give a full account of them to Your Majesty, I had sent thither Diego de Ordaz, who resides at the Court of Your Majesty; ​and the lords and natives of the said province had received him cordially, and had offered themselves as vassals and subjects of Your Highness. I had received information that there was a very good harbour for ships at the mouth of a large river which flows through that province; for the said Ordaz and those with him had explored it and had found the country very well adapted for settling. The absence of harbours on this coast made me anxious to find a good one where I might found a town.
I ordered the alguacil mayor that, before entering the province, he should send certain messengers whom I gave him, natives of this city, to tell the inhabitants that he went there by my orders to discover if they were still loyal to Your Majesty's service and faithful to our amity, as they had formerly professed to be; and to tell them also that, on account of the wars I had carried on with the sovereign of this city and its dependencies, I had sent no one to visit them for a long time, but that I had always considered them as my friends and vassals of Your Highness and that, as such, they might count upon my friendship if they had need of it; and that hence I sent my people thither to pacify and to assist them in anything they might require, and to settle that province. The alguacil mayor departed with his people, and did as I commanded him, but did not find the natives well disposed as they had formerly professed, but rather they displayed a warlike disposition to prevent the alguacil mayor and his people from entering their country. He managed so well that, surprising a town one night, he seized a woman whom all in those parts obeyed, and everything quieted because she sent to call the chiefs and ordered them to observe whatever was commanded them in Your Majesty's name as she herself intended to do. They arrived at the river four leagues from its mouth where they founded a town on a good site — as no good place was found nearer ​the sea, to which the name of Espiritu Santo was given, and the alguacil mayor stopped there for some days until many f the neighbouring provinces were pacified and brought to the service of Your Catholic Majesty. Some of these were: Tabasco, which is on the River Victoria, or Grijalba as it is commonly called, and that of Chimaclan, and Quechula, and Quizaltepeque, and others which being insignificant I do not name. And we apportioned the natives to the householders of the said town to serve them; and they actually do serve them, although some, 1 mean those of Chimaclan, Tabasco, and Quizaltepeque, have again rebelled. About a month since, I sent a captain with some people from this city to subdue them to the service of Your Majesty, and to punish their rebellion; I have had no news of them but I believe, Our Lord willing, they will succeed, as they took a good supply of artillery, ammunition, crossbowmen, and horsemen.
In the account, most Catholic Sire, which the said Juan de Ribera took with him, I also made it known to Your Cæsarian and Catholic Majesty that the ruler of the great province near Mechuacan, whose name is Casulci, had offered himself and his people as subjects and vassals of Your Cæsarian Majesty and had sent certain presents by his messengers, which presents I sent with the Procurators who went from this New Spain to Your Highness. As the province and dominion of the said Lord Casulci, according to the information which certain Spaniards whom I sent there gave me, was large, and, from all indications, very rich, and since it is so near to this great city, after I had received reinforcements, I sent thither a captain with seventy cavalry and two hundred foot soldiers, well armed and provided with artillery, to explore that province and its secrets, with ​orders, if they found it as it was described, to settle in the principal city — Huicicila. They were well received and lodged by the chiefs and natives, who, besides providing them with food, gave them as much as three thousand marks of silver, so mixed with copper that one-half may have been silver; and about five thousand dollars of gold, likewise mixed with silver in unknown proportion and some cotton stuffs, and other things; after having separated Your Majesty's fifth, these were distributed amongst the Spaniards of the expedition. As they were not much satisfied with the prospects of settling in the country, they objected, and even showed such disaffection that some were punished; on which account I ordered those who wished to do so to go back, and the others I ordered to go on with a captain to the South Sea, where I have established a town called Zacatula, distant one hundred leagues from Huicicila, and where I have four ships in the dockyard for the exploration of that Sea as far as God our Lord will permit me. While marching to Zacatula, the said captain and his people heard of a province, called Coliman, which lies off the road about fifty leagues westward; so, without my permission, he went thither with his people and many allies from the Province of Mechuacan. He marched some distance into it, coming into conflict with the natives, and, although he had forty horsemen and more than one hundred foot soldiers, musketeers, and crossbowmen, they routed him, and drove him from the country, killing three Spaniards and many of our Indian allies; he then took refuge in Zacatula. As soon as I heard of this incident, I summoned the captain and punished him for his disobedience.
In the former account which I sent to Your Cœsarian ​Majesty, I related how I had sent Pedro de Alvarado to the province of Tututepeque on the South Sea, and I could say no more than that he arrived there and had taken the chief and his son prisoners; and that they had given him some gold and samples from the gold mines, and of pearls, because, up to that time, I had nothing further to report. Your Highness will recollect that, in reply to the news which he sent me, I immediately ordered him to seek an available site in that province for a settlement, and that I also directed householders of the town of Segura de la Frontera to move there, as there was no further need for that town so near to this city. Thus it was done, and the town was called Segura la Frontera as before: the natives of Quaxaca, Coaclan, Coasclahuaca, Tachquiaco, and others in that neighbourhood, were distributed amongst the householders for their service and willingly made themselves useful; and Pedro de Alvarado stopped there as chief justice and captain in my place. While I was engaged in conquering the province of Panuco, as I shall hereafter state to Your Majesty, the alcaldes and municipal officers of the said town besought Pedro de Alvarado to go, with power of attorney, to negotiate certain matters with me, which they desired of him, to which he agreed; and, when he was gone, the alcaldes and municipal officers formed a conspiracy, convoking the community and appointing other alcaldes against the will of him whom the said Pedro de Alvarado had left there as captain, and they removed the said town to the province of Guaxaca, thus causing much disturbance and confusion in those parts. When I learned of this from the rightful captain, I sent Diego de Ocampo, alcalde mayor, to obtain information of ​what had happened, and to punish the culprits. They, hearing this, fled, and wandered about for some days until I captured them, so that the said alcalde mayor secured only one of the rebels, whom he sentenced to death; and this man appealed to me. I delivered those whom I had captured to the said alcalde mayor, who proceeded against them likewise, and sentenced them as he did the other, and they also appealed; the cases are now finished, and ready to be sentenced in the second instance before me. I have-examined them, and, while I think their error was very grave, still, considering the long time they have been in prison, I have determined to commute the death penalty to that of civil death or banishment, forbidding them to return to these parts without Your Majesty's permission under pain of incurring their first sentence.
During this time, the chief of the said province of Tututepeque died, and it and other neighbouring provinces rebelled, so I sent Pedro de Alvarado, and with him the son of the said chief whom I had kept here in my power. Although he had some encounters in which some Spaniards were killed, they resumed their allegiance to Your Majesty, and are now pacified and serve the Spaniards to whom they are surely and pacifically apportioned, although the town has not been resettled for want of people and because at present there is no need for it, as, since their chastisement, they are so subdued that they come even to this city when they are summoned.
Immediately after this city of Temixtitan and its dependencies were recovered there were reduced to the Imperial Crown of Your Cæsarian Majesty two provinces called Tututepeque and Mezclitan which are forty ​leagues towards the north and border on the province of Panuco. The country is an extremely strong one, and the people are well versed in the exercise of arms on account of the adversaries who surround them on all sides. They, seeing what had been done to these people of Panuco, and how nothing hindered Your Majesty's progress sent their messengers to me and offered themselves as your subjects and vassals. I received them in the royal name of Your Majesty, and as such they always considered themselves until the coming of Cristobal de Tapia, who caused such disturbances and scandals amongst these other peoples that they, too, not only renounced their obedience, but even did much harm to the neighbourhood where there are vassals of Your Catholic Majesty, burning many towns and killing many people. I had no people to spare at that moment, as they were scattered in so many other places, but, seeing that to leave this unnoticed was very mischievous, and fearing that the people who bordered on those provinces might join them for fear of reprisals if they did not, and also because I was not myself entirely satisfied as to their loyalty, I sent a captain with thirty horsemen, one hundred foot soldiers, crossbowmen, musketeers, and many Indian allies. Several encounters took place in which they killed some of our friendlies and two Spaniards; but our Lord was pleased that they should proffer peace of their own free will; the chiefs were brought to me, and, as they had come without being captured, I pardoned them. Afterwards, when I went to the province of Panuco, the natives spread the report that I was gone to Castile, which news caused much apprehension; and one of the two provinces — Tututepeque — again rebelled, and its chief descended with many people and burned more than twenty towns of our friendlies, and killed and captured numbers of them. Finding myself on the march from the province of Panuco, I returned and subdued ​them, and, although at the outset they killed some of our friendlies who had straggled behind, and some ten or twelve horses foundered on account of the roughness of the mountain roads, all the province was conquered, and the lord and his brother, a youth, and another, his captain-general, who guarded one of the frontiers, were captured. The lord and his captain-general were immediately hanged, and all who were captured in the war, perhaps two hundred persons, were made slaves and were branded and sold by auction. Your Majesty's fifth having been paid, the rest of the proceeds were distributed amongst those who took part in the war, although there was not sufficient to pay for one-third of the horses which perished, as, on account of the poverty of the country, no other spoil had been obtained. The rest of the people in the said province surrendered peaceably and have kept their word. That young brother of the dead chief is now lord, although for the present he is of no service or profit as the country is so poor, still he keeps it in such security that those who do serve us will not be disturbed, and moreover, I have placed amongst them some of the natives of this country for greater security.
At this season, Most Invincible Cæsar, there arrived at the port and town of Espiritu Santo, which I mentioned Mission of Juan Bono in the chapter before the last, a very small and miserable brigantine coming from Cuba, on board which was one Juan Bono de Quejo who had come to this country in the armada of Panfilo de Narvaez as master of one of the ships; and, as it appeared from the despatches he brought, he came by order of Don Juan de Fonseca, Bishop of Burgos, in the belief that Cristobal de Tapia ​whom he had designated for Governor of this country was here. Lest he should meet with an unfavourable reception, as for notorious reasons he was led to fear, he was sent by way of the island of Cuba in order to communicate with Diego de Velasquez; this he did and was given by the latter the brigantine in which he came. The said Juan Bono brought about one hundred letters of the same tenor, signed by the said Bishop, and I even believe they were in blank so that he could deliver them to such persons as seemed expedient here, telling them that they would render great service to Your Cæsarian Majesty by receiving the said Tapia, and promising them increased and signal favours for so doing; saying also that they should know Your Excellency was displeased at their being under my command, besides many other things tending to excite them to sedition and disquiet. To me, he wrote another letter, telling me the same, and saying if I would obey the said Tapia he would obtain signal favours from Your Majesty for me, and if not, I might be sure he would always be my mortal enemy. The arrival of this Juan Bono and the letters he brought occasioned such commotion among my company that I declare to Your Majesty I had to reassure them, explaining to them why the Bishop had written thus and
​that they should not fear his threats as the greatest service to Your Majesty, and for which they would receive greater favours, was to resent the meddling of the Bishop and of any of his creatures in those parts; because his intention was to conceal the truth from Your Majesty, obtaining favours the while without your knowing what was given in exchange. I had much trouble to pacify them, especially as I was informed — although I dissembled at the time — that some murmured amongst themselves, saying that since thus far they had received nothing but threats in payment for their services they might better form themselves into comunidades as had been done in Castile until Your Majesty should be informed of the truth; for the Bishop had so many fingers in this business and thus prevented their accounts from reaching Your Highness, as he held the office of the Casa de la Contratacion at Seville in his hands, where their messengers were ill-treated, and their letters and monies were seized, and reinforcements, supplies, arms, and provisions were withheld from them. When I spoke to them as I have explained above, and told them that Your Majesty was not in any wise cognisant of this, and they might rest assured that, when Your Highness came ​to know, their services would be recompensed and they would receive such favours as loyal vassals who had served their King and Lord merited, they became reassured, and they were and are still content with the favour which Your Highness deemed well to bestow upon me with Your Royal provisions, and they serve very willingly as the fruits of their service give testimony. They deserve, therefore, that Your Majesty should concede them great favours, which I on my part supplicate most humbly from Your Highness because I deem anything conceded to them as no less a favour than if it had been granted to me, for without them I could not have served Your Highness as I have; and especially do I most humbly supplicate Your Highness to order some recognition of their services to be sent them in writing, promising them favours; because besides paying a debt which Your Majesty owes them, they will be animated henceforth with greater good will to continue.
By a royal cedula which Your Cæsarian Majesty ordered to be given at the petition of Juan de Ribera, respecting the affair of the adelantado, Francisco de Garay, it seems that Your Highness was informed that I was about to go very soon to the river Panuco to pacify that region, because it was stated that there was a good harbour there, and because the natives had killed many Spaniards, not only of those under Francisco de Garay's captain, but also those of another ship which sometime afterwards arrived on that coast of whom none escaped alive. Some of the natives of those parts had come to me, ​excusing themselves for those murders, saying that they had acted thus because they knew those men were not under my command, and because they had been ill-treated by them; but that, if I wished to send my people there, they would esteem it a great favour and would serve them the best they could, and would thank me very much, because they feared that the others with whom they had fought might return against them and take vengeance, and also because they had hostile neighbours who molested them, whereas if I sent Spaniards there they would be protected. I was short of people when they came so I was unable to comply, but I promised I would do so as soon as possible; and thus satisfied them so that ten or twelve towns in that neighbourhood offered themselves as vassals of Your Majesty. A few days afterwards, they again returned, and besought me most earnestly to send some Spaniards to settle there, as I had done in other places, because they were much molested by their foes and others of their own nation who lived along the seacoast, because they were our friends. To comply with this, and for the purpose of making a settlement in their country, and also because I had then received reinforcements, I sent a captain with certain companions to the said river, but just as they were leaving I learned by a ship that had arrived from Cuba how the Admiral Don Diego Colon and the adelantados, Diego Velasquez and Francisco de Garay, had agreed amongst themselves to go there with the hostile intention of doing me all the mischief they could. To forestall the effects of their evil intentions, and to prevent a disturbance and trouble arising from their going similar to what had occurred on the arrival of Narvaez, I determined to go myself, leaving ​this city as well defended as I could, so that if any of them did come there they would meet me rather than another; for I could better prevent the mischief.
I set out therefore with one hundred and twenty horsemen, three hundred foot soldiers, some artillery, and about forty thousand Indian warriors of this city Campaign in Panuco and its neighbourhood. At the frontier of their country quite twenty-five leagues from the port, and in the neighbourhood of a large town called Ayntuscotaclan, we encountered and fought with many warriors, but owing to our numerous Indian allies, and also to the fact that the ground was level and suitable for the cavalry, the battle did not last long; although they wounded some horses and Spaniards and some of our friendlies perished, they got the worst share, for many of them were killed. I remained in that town two or three days for the purpose of caring for the wounded and also because those who had formerly offered themselves as vassals to Your Highness came to see me there. From there they accompanied me to the port and ever afterwards rendered us the greatest possible service. I continued my march until I reached the port, and nowhere did I have any further hostile encounters, but rather, all along the road, the people came and asked pardon for their error, and offered themselves for the royal service of Your Highness. When I reached the port and river, I lodged in a town, called Chila, five leagues from the sea, which was abandoned and burned because it was there that Francisco de Garay's captain and his people were routed. From there I sent messengers to the other side of the river and along those lakes which are all peopled with great towns, telling them to have no fears for what had happened in the past for I was well aware they had revolted on account of the ill-treatment they had received from our people ​and that they deserved no blame for it. But they never would come to me, but ill-treated the messengers, and even killed some of them. They also stationed themselves on the other side of the river, at the spring where we got our fresh water, and attacked those who went to fetch it. This continued for more than fifteen days while I waited always hoping to win them by kindness, and that, on seeing how well treated those were who had submitted, they would do likewise; but they had such confidence in the strength of their position among these lakes that they never would yield. And seeing that gentle means availed nothing with them, I sought a means to bring matters to a finish. I already had some canoes and managed to procure some others, so that one night I transported my men and horses across the lake without the enemy suspecting anything, and by morning I had assembled a strong troop of foot soldiers and horsemen, leaving at the same time a good garrison in my quarters. When they saw us on their side they fell upon us in great numbers so fiercely that never since I have been in this country have I been so vigorously attacked; and they killed two horses and wounded ten others so badly that they were disabled. In the course of the day — thanks to God — the enemy was defeated, and we pursued them for more than a league and killed numbers of them. With the thirty horsemen remaining and one hundred foot soldiers, I continued my march, and slept that night in a town three leagues from the camp which was found deserted. In the mosques of this town we found many articles belonging to those Spaniards who had been sent by Francisco de Garay, and who had been killed.
The next day, I set out along the shore of the lake, searching for a passage to the other side where we had seen people and towns, but I marched all day without finding it, nor any place to cross; and towards the hour ​of vespers we came in sight of a very beautiful town, and marched towards it as it still lay on the shore of the lake. Upon approaching, it was already late and no people appeared, but to make sure I sent ten horsemen into the town by the main road and I with another ten went round towards the lake; for the other ten were bringing up the rear-guard and had not yet arrived. On entering the town, a number of people who had been hiding in ambush in the houses, so as to take us unawares, came out and fought so stoutly that they killed a horse and wounded almost all the others besides many Spaniards. Their determination was such that the battle lasted a long time; though we broke through them three or four times, they're-formed in a phalanx, kneeling on the ground, and, without speaking or shouting as the other natives are accustomed to do, they would await us; and each time we charged them they discharged such a volley of arrows against us that, had we not been well armoured, they would have gained a great advantage, and I believe that none of us would have escaped. It pleased our Lord that some of them who were nearest the river, which emptied into the lake near there and whose course I had followed all day long, began to throw themselves into the water, and all the others followed; and thus they dispersed, though they did not go further than the other bank of the river. Thus they on one side, and I on the other, remained until night fell, as on account of the depth of the water we could not cross to them. Indeed we were glad when they crossed, for we then returned to the town, about a sling's throw from the river, where we mounted guard and remained that night: and we ate the horse which they killed for we had no other provisions. The next day, we went out on the road, for the people of the day before did not appear; and we marched through three or four towns where there were no people nor anything but a few wine vaults, in which we found large ​numbers of earthen jars filled with wine. During the whole day we met no people, and slept on the bare ground at a place where we found some fields of maize, with which the people and the horses somewhat refreshed themselves. In this wise, I continued for two or three days, without meeting any people, although we passed through many towns. Being in want of provisions, as we had not amongst the whole of us fifty pounds of bread, we returned to the camp and found the people I had left there doing very well, and having had no encounters. Seeing the entire population was on the other side of the lake where I had not been able to cross, I embarked my men, crossbowmen and musketeers, and the horses during one night, ordering them to cross to the other shore where others of my people would join them by land. Thus they arrived at a large town, where they surprised the inhabitants, killing a large number of them; the others were so frightened, seeing themselves surprised in the midst of their lakes, that they came to seek peace, and, in less than twenty days, the entire population offered themselves as subjects and vassals to Your Majesty.
When the country was pacified, I sent people to visit every part of it, in order to bring me reports of the towns and peoples. When these were brought, I chose Foundation of Santistevan del Puerto the most suitable place, and founded there a town which I called Santistevan del Puerto, establishing as inhabitants those who wished to remain, and giving them in the name of Your Majesty those towns for their service. I appointed alcaldes and municipal officers, and left a captain there as my lieutenant, besides thirty horsemen and one hundred foot soldiers; I also left them a barque and a fishing boat which was brought to me with provisions from Vera ​Cruz. One of my servants also had sent me a ship with provisions of meat, bread, wine, oil, and vinegar, but everything was lost, excepting three men who took refuge on a desert island five leagues from the coast for whom I sent to search. They were found in good health, having kept themselves alive by eating the seals which were plentiful on the island, and a kind of fruit like figs. I certify to Your Majesty that this expedition cost me alone more than thirty thousand dollars in gold, as Your Majesty may order to be shown by the accounts, if such is your will; and those who went with me had as great expenses, for horses, provisions, arms, and horse-shoes, which at that time cost their weight in gold, or twice their weight in silver. But, to serve Your Majesty well, we would have undertaken it, even had our expenses been greater, for, besides putting those Indians under the imperial yoke of Your Majesty, our expedition produced good results, for, immediately after, there arrived a ship with many people and provisions and, had the country not been at peace, none of them would have escaped, as had happened with the others whom the Indians had killed, and whose remains we had found in their temples. I mean their skins, cured in such a manner that we recognised the faces of many of them. When the adelantado, Francisco de Garay, arrived in that province, as I shall relate to Your Cæsarian Majesty later, neither he, nor any of those with him, would have escaped alive; for the wind drove them thirty leagues from Panuco where they lost some ships, and the others were driven disabled ashore, where, had they not found the people at peace, and ready to carry them on their backs, and serve them, in a Spanish town, they would have all perished, even had there been no other hostilities. It ​was thus a great good fortune to find that country at peace.
In the chapter before this, Most Excellent Prince, I related how, during my march after the pacification Expedition South Coast Provinces of the Province of Panuco, the province of Tututepeque, which had rebelled, had been again conquered, and all that was done there. I received news of a province, called Impilcingo, which is near the South Sea, and which is much the same as Tututepeque in the mountainous and rugged character of its country; and the equally war-like inhabitants had done much mischief to the vassals of Your Cæsarian Majesty on the border of their country; and these had come to complain of them and ask for help. Although my people were not rested, as the road from one sea to the other is two hundred leagues, I immediately assembled twenty-five horsemen and eighty foot soldiers, whom I sent to that province with one of my captains; I instructed him to seek to win the inhabitants by peaceful means, and if unsuccessful to fight them. He went there, and had several encounters with them, but, on account of the ruggedness of the country, it was impossible to conquer it entirely. I had also ordered him, in the same instructions, that, having accomplished this, he should go to the city of Zacatula, and, to proceed with his people and those whom he might collect there to the province of Coliman, where, as I have related in the preceding chapters, they had routed and captured the people who had come from the province of Mechuacan; and to seek to win them by kindness, but if he could not, to conquer them. He departed, and altogether, with the people he took, and those whom he collected there, he assembled fifty horsemen and one hundred and fifty footmen and marched to the said province down the coast by the South Sea about sixty leagues from the city of Zacatula. He pacified several ​towns along the road, and reached the said province, finding, at the place where the other captain had been routed, many warriors, who were expecting him, confident that they could treat him as they had done the other. Our Lord was pleased that the victory in this encounter should be for us, none of ours being killed, although many men and horses were wounded; the enemy paid dearly for the mischief they had done, and this punishment was sufficient, without further fighting to bring the whole country suing immediately for peace; not merely that province, but many other neighbouring ones, which came and offered themselves as vassals of Your Cæsarian Majesty, namely: Aliman, Colimante, and Ceguatan. He wrote me from there all that had happened, and I ordered him to seek a good site to found a town, which he should call Coliman like the province, and I sent him the nominations for alcaldes and municipal officers, directing him to visit the towns and peoples of those provinces and bring me the fullest reports of the secrets of the country. When he returned, he brought this report, as well as certain samples of pearls; and, in the name of Your Majesty, I divided the towns and those provinces amongst the settlers who remained there, who numbered twenty-five horsemen and one hundred and twenty foot soldiers. In his description of these provinces, there was news of a very good port on that coast, which greatly pleased me because they are few: he likewise brought me an account of the chiefs of the province of Ceguatan, who affirm that there is an island inhabited only by women without any men, and that, at given times, men from the mainland visit them; if they conceive, they keep the female children to which they give birth, but the males they throw away. This island is ten days' journey from the province, and many of them went thither and saw it, and told me also that it is very rich in pearls and gold. I shall strive to ascertain ​the truth, and, when I am able to do so, I shall make a full account to Your Majesty.
On returning from the province of Panuco, and while in a town called Tuzapan, the two Spaniards arrived, whom I had sent with some natives of Temixtitan and others of Soconusco (which latter is on the coast of the South Sea, near where Pedrarias Davila is Your Highnesses's Governor, two hundred leagues from this great city of Temixtitan) to obtain information of some towns, about which I have heard for a long time, and which are called Uclaclan and Guatemala, and which are more than seventy leagues distant from this province of Soconusco. There came with these Spaniards more than one hundred of the inhabitants of those two towns, sent by their chiefs to declare themselves subjects and vassals of Your Imperial Majesty. I received them in Your Royal name and assured them that, if they remained faithful to their pledge, they would be well treated and favoured by me and my people in Your Majesty's name; and I gave them some presents of things which they esteem, not only for themselves, but also for their chief, and sent two other Spaniards back with them to provide everything necessary along the road. Since then, I have learned from certain Spaniards in the province of Soconusco, that those cities with their provinces, and another, called Chiapan, near there, have not kept faith, but are molesting the towns of Soconusco because they are our friends. On the other hand, the Christians have written to me that they constantly send messengers to excuse themselves, saying that these things had been done by others, and that they had no part in it. So, to learn the truth of this, I despatched Pedro de Alvarado, with eighty odd horsemen ​and two hundred foot soldiers, amongst whom were many crossbowmen and musketeers; he took four field pieces and artillery, and a great supply of ammunition and powder. I likewise had an armada of ships built, of which I sent Cristobal de Olid as captain, he having come with me to go to the North Coast, where I ordered Cortes named Captain- General him to make a settlement on the Cape of Hibueras, which is sixty leagues from the Bay of Ascension, beyond what is called Yucatan, on the coast of the mainland towards Darien: for I have information that that country is very rich, and many pilots believe that a strait links that Bay with the other sea, and this is the one thing in the world which I most desire to discover, and which I think would render greatest service to Your Cæsarian Majesty. As these two captains were about to start, with all preparations for the march completed, I received a message from each of them, from Santistevan del Puerto which I had founded ​on the River Panuco, telling me that the Governor Francisco de Garay had arrived at Panuco with one hundred and twenty horse, four hundred foot soldiers, and numerous artillery, proclaiming himself, through an interpreter, whom he had brought with him, governor of the country; he told the Indians he would revenge the ills they had suffered at my hands in the recent war, and that they should join with him in driving out those Spaniards whom I had placed there, and that he would help them; besides many other scandalous things which considerably agitated the natives. To confirm my suspicion of his understanding with the Admiral and Diego Velasquez, a few days later, there arrived at the river a caravel from the island of Cuba having on board certain friends and servants of Diego Velasquez, and a servant of the Bishop of Burgos, who said that he came as factor for Yucatan; and the rest of the company was composed of creatures and relatives of Diego Velasquez and of the Admiral. When I heard this news, although I had a lame arm from a fall from my horse, and was in bed, I decided to go to meet him and arrange the difficulty, and I immediately sent Pedro de Alvarado ahead of me with all the people he had ready for his march, while I prepared to start in two days. My bed and baggage were already on the road and had gone ten leagues from Mexico to a place where I was to join them, when, towards midnight, there arrived a courier from Vera Cruz who brought me letters, which had arrived from Spain in a ship, and ​with them a cedula, signed with the royal name of Your Majesty. By this latter the said Governor Francisco de Garay was commanded not to meddle in the affairs of the said river region, or in any way where I had settled, as Your Majesty desired that I should hold them in Your Royal name; for which I kiss the royal feet of Your Caesarian Majesty a hundred thousand times. The arrival of this cedula interrupted my journey, which was of ​advantage to my health, because for sixty days I had hardly slept, and was so overcome with work that to travel at such a time was to risk my life.
I had however, put all considerations aside and held it better to die on the march than to live and be the cause of such scandals and troubles and deaths as would notoriously have followed; so I immediately sent Diego de Ocampo, alcalde mayor, with the said cedula to follow Pedro de Alvarado, to whom I also sent a letter ordering him on no account to go where the people of the adelantado were, so as to avoid disturbances; and I ordered the said alcalde mayor to notify the adelantado of that cedula and to let me know immediately what he said. He set out as quickly as possible and reached the province of the Guatescas, through which Pedro de Alvarado had passed into the interior of the province. When the latter learned that the alcalde mayor had come, and that I had remained behind, he told Ocampo that one of Garay's captains, called Gonzalo Dovalle, was scouring the country with twenty-two horsemen, pillaging the villages, and disturbing the Indians, and that he had been told that this captain had placed spies on the road where Alvarado must pass; all of which greatly vexed the said Alvarado and convinced him that Gonzalo Dovalle intended to attack him. He pushed on ahead with his people to a village called Las Lajas, where he found Gonzalo Dovalle with his people. Alvarado spoke with him and told him that he knew what he had been doing, and marvelled much at it, because the governor and his captains had in no way intended to offend the people of Garay, but on the contrary planned to aid them and furnish them with whatever they might need; however, since things had taken another turn, he asked him as a favour, and in order to ensure that no scandal or mischief should ensue amongst the people on one side or the other, not to take it ill if his arms and horses were sequestrated ​until some agreement should be reached. Gonzalo Dovalle excused himself, assuring Alvarado that he had been misinformed as to what had happened, but accepted the conditions which were imposed; thus the two troops were united, the men living and eating together without any dissension. As soon as the alcalde mayor learned this, he ordered one of my secretaries, Francisco de Orduña, who had gone with him, to go to the captains, Pedro de Alvarado and Dovalle, taking an order to return the arms and horses to their owners, and to tell them it was my intention to aid and favour them in everything they might require, but that they should not make trouble in the country; he further counselled Alvarado to come to a good understanding with Dovalle and not to mix in any way in his affairs; and this was done.
At the same time, Most Powerful Lord, it happened that the ships of the said adelantado, which were lying at the mouth of the River Panuco were a menace Events at Santistevan to the inhabitants of the town of Santistevan, which I had founded three leagues up the river where all the ships which arrived at that port anchored. Seeing this, my lieutenant in that town, Pedro de Vallejo, wishing to forestall any danger arising from possible troubles with those ships, required the captains and masters of them to go up the river peacefully without disturbing the country, and he also required them that, if they had any authority from Your Majesty to settle or land in that country or for any other purpose, they should exhibit it, protesting that it would be complied with in every respect as Your Majesty commanded. The captains and masters answered these requirements, refusing everything the lieutenant commanded, which obliged the latter to issue a second order to them, insisting anew on all that he had ordered in the first requirement under certain penalties; to this mandate they replied as before. Seeing ​therefore that their remaining with the ships at the mouth of the river for the space of two months or more would result in causing scandal, not only amongst the Spaniards, but also among the natives, two masters of the said ships, one Castromocho, and the other Martin de San Juan a Guipuzcoan, secretly sent messengers to the lieutenant telling him they wished for peace and would obey his commands, which they thought just, and that they would do whatever he ordered them, adding that the other ships would likewise obey him. Upon receiving this information, my lieutenant decided to go aboard the vessels, accompanied by only five men; he was received by the pilots with all respect, and from there he sent to Juan de Grijalba, the commander of the fleet, on board the flag-ship and summoned him to obey the orders which had already been communicated to him. The said captain not only refused to obey, but he ordered the other ships to unite with his and surround the other two above mentioned and fire upon them with their artillery and sink them: this order was made public, and everybody heard it, and my lieutenant responded by ordering the artillery of the two ships which obeyed him to be prepared. Meanwhile, the captains and masters of the ships about the flag-ship refused to obey Grijalba's orders, seeing which, he sent a notary, called Vicente Lopez, to my lieutenant to arrange matters. My lieutenant answered that he came there merely to negotiate peace and prevent the scandals which the presence of these ships outside the port provoked, as they seemed like pirates ready to make a raid on the dominions of Your Majesty, which sounded very badly, advancing other reasons in support of this opinion. These arguments prevailed upon the notary Vicente Lopez to return with the reply to Captain Grijalba whom he informed of all he had heard from the lieutenant, persuading the captain to obey, for it was clear that the said ​Fourth Letter 185 lieutenant was the justice of that province for Your Majesty, and the said Captain Grijalba knew, that neither the Governor, Francisco de Garay, nor he himself had presented any royal provisions which the lieutenant and inhabitants of Santistevan were bound to obey, and that it was a very ugly thing to act in this way; for they were behaving like pirates in Your Majesty's dominions. Convinced by these reasons, Captain Grijalba, and the captains and masters of the other ships, obeyed the lieutenant and went up the river to where ships usually anchored.
Upon arriving at the port, the lieutenant ordered the said Juan de Grijalba to be imprisoned for the disobedience he had shown to his mandates but when this Juan de Grijalba Imprisoned imprisonment became known to him, the alcalde mayor immediately ordered the said Juan Grijalba to be set free the next day and that he and all the others should be treated kindly; and thus it was done. In like manner, the said alcalde mayor wrote to Francisco de Garay, who was in another port ten or twelve leagues further South, telling him that I was unable to come and see him but that I had sent him with my power of attorney to come to some agreement and exhibit our provisions on one side and on the other so as to decide what might best advance Your Majesty's service. As soon as Francisco de Garay saw the letter of the alcalde mayor he came to meet him and was very well received, and his people were provided with all necessaries. At this meeting, after having discussed and seen the provisions and the cedula which Your Majesty had so graciously sent me, the said adelantado obeyed it, and declared that in compliance with it, he, with his people, would retire to his ships and go to settle in some other country beyond the boundaries designated in Your Majesty's cedula: and since I wished to assist him, he besought the alcalde mayor to collect all his people, for many of them wished ​to stop there and others had gone off, and also to supply him with provisions for the ships and people of which he stood in need. The alcalde mayor immediately provided everything he asked, and it was published by the public crier, in the port where most of the people of both sides were staying, that all persons who had come in the armada of the adelantado, Francisco de Garay, should join him under penalty that, whoever did not, if he were a horseman, he should lose his arms and horse and be imprisoned by the adelantado, and if a foot soldier, he should receive one hundred stripes and likewise be imprisoned.
The adelantado likewise asked the alcalde mayor that, inasmuch as some of his people had sold their arms and Difficulties of Francisco de Garay horses in the Port Santistevan, and in the port where they stopped, and elsewhere in the neighbourhood, they might be returned to him, because without arms and horses his people would be of no use; the alcalde mayor ordered the horses and arms to be taken wherever they might be found and to be returned to the adelantado. The alcalde mayor also sent out and seized all those who had deserted, and many were thus captured and brought in. He also sent the alguacil mayor of Santistevan, with a secretary of mine, to ensure in that town and port, the same diligence in proclaiming by the public crier and capturing deserters and in collecting all the provisions possible for the ships of the adelantado; besides which he ordered the arms and horses which had been sold there also to be taken and brought back to the adelantado. All this was done with great diligence, and the adelantado left for the port to embark, while the alcalde mayor remained behind with his people so as not to make too great demands on the supplies of the port, and in order to provide the better for everything; and he stopped there six or seven days to see that all I had ordered was executed. ​The alcalde mayor wrote to the adelantado, that if he desired anything else, to let him know, as he was returning to Mexico where I was; and the adelantado sent a messenger to say that he had not been able to get ready to sail, as six ships were wanting, and those which remained were not seaworthy, and that he was preparing a statement which would prove to me how impossible it was for him to leave the country. He told him at the same time that his people raised a thousand objections, pretending that they were not obliged to follow him, and that they had appealed from the commands which my alcalde mayor had given them, saying they were not obliged to comply with them for sixteen or seventeen reasons which they assigned; one of them was that some of his people had already died of starvation, and other not very weighty reasons touching his own person. He likewise stated that all his precautions to keep his men together were useless, as they disappeared in the evening without coming back next morning, and those who were one day delivered to him as prisoners again deserted the next day when they got their liberty; and it had happened that between night and morning two hundred men had left. For this reason, the adelantado besought my alcalde mayor most earnestly not to leave until they had seen each other, because he wished to come with him to this city to see me, and said that, if the alcalde mayor left him thus he would drown himself in despair. After receiving this letter the alcalde mayor decided to wait for him, and, two days later, when he arrived, they sent a messenger to me, by whom the alcalde made known to me that the adelantado was coming to see me in this city, and that they would come slowly as far as Cicoaque, which is on the border of this province, where they would await my answer. The adelantado also wrote me, describing the bad condition of his ships and the ill-will his people displayed, and said that he believed I might ​find a remedy by providing some of my people and whatever else he might need; for he was aware that nobody else could help him and hence he had decided to come to see me: and that he offered me his eldest son with all he possessed, hoping to leave him with me as my son-in-law by marriage with a small daughter of mine.
Meanwhile, when they were about starting for this city, it being clear to the alcalde mayor that some very <span Concerning Francisco de Garay suspicious persons had come in the armada of Francisco de Garay, friends and servants of Diego Velasquez, who had shown themselves hostile to my undertakings, and, being aware that they could not safely remain in the said province, without stirring up tumults and disturbances, he ordered, by virtue of the royal provisions Your Majesty sent me authorising me to expel all such scandalous persons from the country, that Gonzalo Figueroa, Alonzo de Mendoza, Antonio de la Cerda, Juan de Avila, Lorenzo de Ulloa, Taborda, Juan de Grijalba, Juan de Medina, and others, should leave. After this was done, the adelantado and the alcalde mayor came as far as the town of Cicoaque, where they received my answer to the letters they had sent me in which I wrote that I rejoiced much at the arrival of the adelantado, and that, on reaching this city, we would come to an amicable understanding about all he had written to me, with which he would be fully satisfied. I had likewise ordered the chiefs of the towns along the road to provide him fully with everything necessary.
When the adelantado arrived here, I received him with every hospitality such as I would have shown for my brother, for I was sincerely grieved at the loss of his ships and at the rebellion of his people, and I offered him my services, truly desiring to do everything possible for him. He wished very much to carry out the plan he had written me about the marriage, and again importuned me so persistently, that, in order to please ​him, I agreed to everything he asked. So, with mutula consent, a binding agreement was made, under oath, leading to the consummation of the said marriage, on condition that Your Majesty, after learning the contents of our agreement, should approve of it; thus, besides our ancient friendship, we were joined by the mutual contracts and engagements which we made for our children, and were both satisfied with the conditions thereof, especially the adelantado.
In the preceding chapter, Most Powerful Lord, I told Your Catholic Majesty of all my alcalde mayor had done to collect the adelantado's men, who were scattered over the country, and the steps he had taken for this purpose, which, in spite of their being so many, were not sufficient to calm the dissatisfaction felt against Francisco de Gar ay; for they feared they would, in accordance with the orders published by the public crier, be forced to accompany him. The deserters had penetrated to the interior of the country in bands of three and six together, in different places, so that they could not be captured. This led to much disturbance amongst the Indians, who saw the Spaniards scattered over the country, and the many disorders, which they aroused by seizing the native women and supplies, and to a general rising of the whole country; for the natives believed what the adelantado had published on his arrival, namely: that there existed dissension among the different commanders, as I have already related to Your Majesty. Thus, the Indians astutely got information as to where those several Spaniards were, and, both by day and night, they would fall upon them in the towns where they were scattered and, taking them unawares and disarmed, they easily killed a good number of them. Their boldness grew to such a pitch that they came to Santistevan del Puerto, which I had settled in the name of Your Majesty, where they pressed the inhabitants very hard with their fierce ​attacks, so much so that the latter gave themselves up for lost, as indeed they would have been had they not been prepared and collected where they could fortify themselves and withstand their adversaries. When things were in this state, I received news of what had happened by a messenger, who had escaped on foot from the contests and told me that all the province of Panuco had rebelled and had killed many of the adelantado's Spaniards who had remained there, and also some householders of the town I had established there in the name of Your Majesty; and, from his account, I fear that none of the Spaniards survive, for which God our Lord knows what I suffer! No such occurrence can happen in these parts without costing much and risking the loss of all. The adelantado was much impressed by this news, not only because it seemed to him that he was the cause of it, but also because he had left his son in that province with all his possessions; so much so indeed, that his chagrin brought on an illness from which he died within the space and term of three days.
That Your Highness may be better informed of what occurred, I relate that the Spaniard, who first brought Rebellion in Panuco the news of the rising of the natives of Panuco, told me that he, a foot soldier, and three horsemen, had been surprised by the Indians in a village called Tacetuco; that these Indians had killed the foot soldier, two of the horsemen, and the horse of the third, and that he and the surviving horseman had fled under cover of night; they had observed a house in the village where a lieutenant, fifteen horsemen, and forty foot soldiers should have waited for them, but the house was burned ​and he believed, according to certain indications, that these men had been massacred. I had waited six or seven days for any other news when a messenger arrived from the lieutenant in a town, called Tenertequipa, which is subject to this city and is on the boundaries of that province; by his letter he made known to me that, while he was in Tacetuco with fifteen horsemen and forty foot soldiers expecting some people to join him preparatory to crossing the river to pacify certain towns, his quarters had been surrounded just before dawn, one night, by a great number of people who set fire to them. Though he and his men had mounted very quickly they had been taken off their guard for they had believed in the friendship of those people; and he thinks all were killed but himself and two other horsemen who had escaped; his own horse had been killed and one of his men had to take him up behind him. Two leagues from there, they met the alcalde of that town who came to their assistance with some people, but they did not tarry long and left the province as quickly as possible. He had, however, no news, either of those who had stayed in the town, or of the men of Francisco de Garay, but he believed there was not one left alive.
As I have told Your Majesty, after the adelantado had proclaimed to the natives throughout the province that I was no longer to have anything to do with them, since he was the Governor whom they must obey, and that by uniting with him they would expel all my Spaniards, the town had revolted, and the natives refused afterwards to serve the Spaniards, even killing some whom they met alone on the roads. The lieutenant believed that what had been done was by concerted action of all the Indians and, as they had attacked him and his people, that they must have done the same to the inhabitants of the town, as well as to those who were ​scattered amongst the neighbouring villages, all of whom were ignorant of any such revolt, seeing that the natives had, until then, served them willingly. Having satisfied myself by this news that a rebellion existed in that province, and having heard of the death of those Spaniards, I sent, with the greatest possible haste, a Spanish captain in command of fifty horsemen and one hundred foot soldiers, crossbowmen and musketeers, with four pieces of artillery, much powder, and ammunition, and two native chiefs of this city each with fifteen thousand of their warriors. I ordered the captain to march without stopping anywhere to the town of Santistevan del Puerto to obtain news of the inhabitants there, as perhaps they had been besieged; and if so, to help them. This was done with all haste, and, after entering the province, the captain fought the Indians at two places; and God, our Lord, having given him the victory, he continued his march to the said town, where he found twenty-two horsemen and one hundred foot soldiers who had been besieged there. They had defended themselves with certain pieces of artillery against six or seven attacks, although they could not have held out much longer as it had been done only with the greatest difficulty; and had the captain I sent been delayed three days more not one of them would have been left alive, for they were already dying of hunger. They had sent one of the adelantado's brigantines to Vera Cruz to let me know their condition by that way (as they could not send news by any other messenger) and also to bring them provisions, which afterwards was done, although they had already been succoured by my people. My captain there learned that Francisco de Garay's people, left in a town, called Tamequil, in all about a hundred foot soldiers and horsemen, had been killed, without one escaping, with the exception of an Indian from the island of Jamaica. He managed to escape through the forest, ​and from him the news of how they were attacked at night was obtained. It was ascertained that two hundred and ten men of the adelantado's people had been killed, and also forty-three of the inhabitants I had left in that town, who were going about their villages which they held under encomienda; it was even believed that the adelantado's people were more numerous, though they could not remember them all. There were altogether, including those whom the captain had taken with him and the lieutenants and the alcalde's people and the inhabitants, eighty horsemen who were divided into three companies. During the war they carried on in the province, they captured about four hundred chiefs and notable persons, besides others of lower class, all of whom — I speak of the chiefs — were burned, having confessed that they had instigated the war and that each had participated in the killing of Spaniards; the other persons were then liberated, and, through them, the people were brought back to the towns. The captain then appointed, in Your Majesty's name, new chiefs from among the rightful heirs, according to their laws of inheritance. At that time I received letters from the captain and other persons who were with him assuring me that — God be praised — the whole province was entirely pacified and subdued, the natives serving them faithfully; and I believe the past ill-feeling will be forgotten and there will be peace for the whole year.
Your Cæsarian Majesty may believe that these people are so turbulent that any novelty or preparation for disturbance excites them, for they have been used to ​rebelling against their chiefs and never lost an occasion to do this.
In the past chapters, Very Catholic Lord, I said that, when I heard of the adelantado's arrival at Panuco, I had prepared a certain armada Expedition to Honduras of ships and people to send to the Cape of Hibueras, and gave the reason wich moved me to do this; and that the arrival of the said adelantado had caused me to suspend things, believing that he was endeavouring to take possession of this country by his authority, and in order to resist any such attempt I needed all my people. Having terminated the affairs of the adelantado, although a great outlay for the payment of seamen and provisions for the ships and people was necessary, it seemed to me that Your Majesty's service required that I should fulfil the intention I had conceived; so I bought five more large ships and a brigantine, and gathered four hundred men, with artillery, ammunitions, arms, and other provisions and stores. I sent two of my agents to the island of Cuba with eight thousand pesos of gold to buy horses and provisions, not only for this first voyage, but also to have them in readiness for the return of the ships, so that there would be no excuse for not following my orders; and I also did this to avoid demanding provisions from the natives of the country, for it was better to give to them rather than to take from them. They departed, with these instructions, from the port of San Juan de Chalchiqueca on the 11th of January, 1524, being obliged to go first to Havana, which is the point of the island of Cuba where they are to get what they require, especially the horses, and to assemble the ships there from whence — with God's blessing — they will continue their route to Hibueras. Upon their arrival at the first ​port, they are to land the people, horses, and provisions, and fortify themselves, with their artillery — of which they take plenty — in the best position they can choose, and there establish a settlement; three of the largest ships are then to go to Cuba, to the port of Trinidad, because that is the best place and because one of my agents has everything in readiness there which the commander of the expedition may require. The other smaller ships and the brigantine, with the chief pilot — who is a cousin of mine called Diego Hurtado — in command, are to cruise along the coast of the Ascension Bay, searching for the strait which is believed to be there, and, after discovering everything about it, are to return to wherever Captain Cristobal de Olid may be, sending me one of the ships with an account of what they have discovered so that I may make a complete report of all that has been done to Your Catholic Majesty.
I also said that I had prepared certain people to go with ​Pedro de Alvarado to those cities of Uclatan and Guatemala which I have mentioned in preceding chapters, Expedition to Tehuantepec and to other provinces of which I have heard beyond them, and also how this had been interrupted by the arrival of Francisco de Garay. Although I had already incurred great expenses for horses and horsemen, artillery and ammunition, as well as for money advanced to help the people, I believed this to be for the service of God, our Lord, and Your Sacred Majesty, and, according to the accounts of those parts which I had received, I expected to discover many new and rich lands and strange inhabitants, so I reverted to my original intention. In addition to what I had already provided for the last expedition, I again fitted out Pedro de Alvarado, and despatched him from this city on the 6th of December, 1523, and he took one hundred and twenty horsemen, so that with his relays, he had one hundred and seventy horses and three hundred foot soldiers of which latter one hundred and thirty were crossbowmen and musketeers; he also took four field pieces of artillery, with plenty of powder and ammunition, and he was accompanied by some chiefs, both of this city and from its neighbourhood, who brought some people with them, though not very many, as the journey was so long.
I have heard that they arrived in the province of Tecuantepeque on the 12th of January, and that everything was going well. May it please our Lord to guide them and the others, for I readily believe that, acting in His service and in the Royal name of Your Cæsarian Majesty, great success will not be wanting.
I also recommended Pedro de Alvarado always to take special care to send me a complete account of everything that happens to him so that I may report to Your Highness. I am positive from the reports I have had about that country that Pedro de Alvarado and Cristobal ​de Olid will meet each other if they are not separated by the strait.
I would have undertaken many of these expeditions and discovered many of the secrets of this country had I not been hindered by the armadas which have Expedition against the Zapotecas and Mixtecas arrived here. I assure Your Sacred Majesty that your service has been much injured, not only because countries have not been discovered, but because much great wealth in gold and pearls has not been procured for Your Royal Treasury. Hereafter, however, if others do not come, I shall strive to recover what has been lost, because nothing which depends upon my efforts shall be left undone; for I certify to Your Cæsarian and Sacred Majesty that, besides having spent all that I possessed, I owe money, which I have taken from the funds of Your Majesty for my expenses, amounting, as Your Majesty may see from my accounts, to sixty thousand pesos of gold, besides another twelve thousand which I borrowed from various persons for my household expenses.
I said in the foregoing chapter that some of the natives of neighbouring provinces who were near about, and who served the inhabitants of the town of Espiritu Santo, had revolted and killed certain Spaniards, and that, both for the purpose of reducing them to the royal service of Your Majesty, as well as for winning over others of their neighbours, as the people of the town are not strong enough to hold what has been won and conquered, I sent a captain with thirty horsemen and one hundred foot soldiers, some of them crossbowmen and musketeers, together with two field pieces and provisions and ammunition and powder. He left on the 8th of December, 1523. I have thus far had no news of them, but expect to obtain good results from this expedition for the service of God, our Lord, and Your Majesty, and hope that they will discover many secrets in that country, which is a ​small territory lying between the one conquered by Pedro de Alvarado and the other by Cristobal de Olid. Including this small bit, the land conquered along the North Sea comprises a territory of more than four hundred leagues which is now subject to Your Majesty, and on the southern coast the conquered country extends from one sea to the other, without interruption, for more than five hundred leagues, with the exception of two provinces, one of which is called Zaputecas and the other Mixes, which lie between the province of Tecuantepeque and that of Chinanta and Guaxaca and that of Guazaqualco. The mountains here are rugged and difficult, so that they can hardly be crossed, even on foot, for twice I have sent people to conquer them but they have never been able to do anything against these Indians, who are well armed and entrenched in their mountains. They fight with lances twenty-five and thirty palms long, very thick, and well made, with points of flint, and they have defended themselves with these and killed some Spaniards, and have done, and are doing, great mischief to their neighbours who are Your Majesty's vassals, assaulting them by night and burning their towns and killing them; to such an extent have they done this that many towns have rebelled and joined with them. To prevent this spreading, although I am at present short of men, I collected one hundred and fifty foot soldiers — the cavalry being useless — most of them crossbowmen and musketeers, and four field pieces with necessary ammunition. This force I put under the command of Rodrigo Rangel, alcalde of Espiritu Santo, who, last year, had already marched against these same Indians but could not rout them on account of the rainy season which obliged him to return after two months spent in their province. ​He left this city with his people on the 5th of February of this present year, and I believe that — God willing — since they take a good equipment and go at a good season with many skilful Indian warriors of this city and its neighbourhood, they will put an end to the strife there, which will redound greatly to the Imperial Crown of Your Majesty; for not only do these people render no service but they molest those who are well disposed. The country is very rich in gold mines, and, once these people are pacified, our settlers say that they will get possession of them and reduce to slavery those people, who had once offered themselves to Your Majesty, and had afterwards rebelled and had killed the Spaniards, and done every mischief. I ordered that those who were captured should be branded with Your Highness 's mark, and, after separating the part belonging to Your Majesty, that the rest should be distributed amongst the members of the expedition.
Most Excellent Lord, I may assure Your Royal Excellency that the least of these expeditions cost me more than five thousand pesos of gold, and those of Pedro de Alvarado and Cristobal de Olid cost more than fifty thousand pesos in monies, besides other outlays from my property which are not accounted or set down in the memoranda; but if it will only conduce to the service of Your Cæsarian Majesty, although it should cost my own life I would deem it sufficient recompense to ever devote myself to the service of Your Highness.
In the last account, and also in this, I have mentioned to Your Majesty that I had begun to build four ships on the South Sea, and, as some time has passed since Ship- building they were begun, it may seem to Your Royal Highness that I have been slow in finishing them; but I now give Your Sacred Majesty the cause, which is that the port on the South Sea where these ships are building, is two hundred leagues, and even more, from the ports on the ​North Sea where all material which arrives in this New Spain is delivered, and there are very steep mountain passes in some parts, and in others great rivers, over which everything required for the said ships must be carried, as nothing can be obtained elsewhere. Another thing also happened, which was that when I had got together the sails, cordage, nails, anchors, tar, tallow, tow, bitumen, oil, and everything else required, and stored them in a house in that port, it took fire and everything was burned, except the anchors, which could not burn. I have now again begun, as a ship arrived from Castile, four months since, bringing me everything necessary for the ships; as, foreseeing the possibility of what had happened, I had already ordered material to be sent. And I certify to Your Cæsarian Majesty that the ships cost me to-day, before launching them on the water, more than eight thousand pesos of gold, without the extra outlays, but now — our Lord be praised — they are in such a condition that, between the Feast of the Holy Ghost and that of St. John in June, they will be ready for navigation if the tar does not fail me, for I have not been able to replace that which was burned, though I have ordered more to be sent me. I attach more importance to these ships than I can say, for I am positive that — God willing — I shall discover for Your Majesty more kingdoms and dominions than all those discovered up till now, and that, with His guidance, my projects may succeed according to my desires, and Your Highness will become the Sovereign of the World.
After God our Lord granted that this great city of Temixtitan should be subdued, it did not seem to me well to live in it, for many reasons, so I brought all the people to a town, called Coyuacan, on the shore of the lake which I have already mentioned. As I always desired that this city should be rebuilt, because of its great and marvellous position, I strove to collect the natives, who, ​since the war, were scattered in many parts, and, though I still held the ruler of it a prisoner, I charged a captaingeneral of his, whom I knew in the days of Montezuma, to repeople it; and, in order that he might enjoy greater authority, I gave him the same office he had held in the time of his sovereign, which is that of Ciguacoat, meaning "lieutenant of the sovereign," and, at the same time, I appointed other personages whom I knew to the principal offices which they had formerly held. I gave these new officers such lordships of territory and people as were necessary to maintain themselves, though not as much as they had before, or enough to make them dangerous; and I always take care to honour and favour them. They have done very well, so that now the city is peopled with about thirty thousand households, and is just as orderly in the market-places as it formerly was; moreover I have given them such liberties and immunities that they will increase in great numbers; for they live quite as they please and many artisans live by their work among the Spaniards, such as carpenters, masons, stone-cutters, silversmiths, and others. Merchants trade in safety, and others live as fishermen, which is an important business in this city, and others by agriculture, for there are already many who have their plantations sown with all kinds of vegetables which we have obtained from Spain. I assure Your Cæsarian Majesty that, could we but obtain plants and seeds from Spain, and if Your Highness would be pleased to order them sent to us as I besought in my other account, the ability of these natives in cultivating the soil and making plantations would very shortly produce such abundance that great profit would accrue to the Imperial Crown of Your Highness; for even greater revenues can be procured for Your Sacred Majesty in these parts than what Your Highness now enjoys in those you possess in the name of God our Lord. Your Highness may rest assured ​that I shall strive with all my mind and power to achieve this end.
Immediately after the capture of this city, I took steps to establish a fort in the water where the brigantines might be Fortification of Mexico kept safely, and from where I might control the whole city should there be any occasion for it, and the exit and entrance remain in my hands. It was constructed in such wise that, although I have seen some forts and arsenals, I have seen none that equals it, and many others affirm the same as myself; and it has been built in this wise: on the side towards the lake, it has two very strong towers, provided with loop-holes: these two towers are joined by a building in the form of three naves, where brigantines are kept, and which have doors towards the water for going in and out; and all this building is provided also with loop-holes, and on the end towards the city there is another large tower, with many rooms above and below for offensive and defensive operations. But, as I shall send a plan to Your Majesty to make this more clearly understood, I shall give no more particulars about it, but, holding these with the ships and artillery, peace or war is in our hands as we choose. Once this building was finished, everything seemed secure for repeopling the city, so I returned there with all my people, and distributed plots of ground to the householders; and to each of those who had been conquerors I gave, in the name of Your Highness, a plot of ground in recompense for their services, besides the one they received as citizens. And so well and quickly does work go on in these parts, that many of the houses are finished and others are well advanced, for there is an abundance of stone, lime, wood, and bricks which the natives make, ​so that the houses are mostly large and good, and Your Sacred Majesty may believe that, within five years, this will be the most nobly populated city which exists in
all the civilised world, and will have the finest buildings. The town where the Spaniards have settled is distinct from that of the natives, for an arm of water separates us, although there are bridges of wood which connect them. There are two great native markets, one in their quarter and one in the Spanish quarter, where every sort of provisions can be bought; for the people come from all over the country to sell, and there is no scarcity as sometimes happened in the days of its prosperity. It is true that now there are no jewels of gold, silver, or feather work and other rich things, as there used to be, although some small miserable pieces of gold and silver appear, but not as formerly.
Owing to Diego Velasquez's ill-will towards me, and that of Don Juan de Fonseca, Bishop of Burgos, who is influenced by him, and in consequence of the orders of the officials of the Casa de la Contratacion of Seville, particularly Juan Lopez de Recalde, accountant of it, on whom everything in the time of the Bishop used to depend, I have not been provided with the artillery nor the arms which I needed, though I have many times sent the money for them. However, as nothing exercises a man's ingenuity like necessity, and as I laboured under ​such an extreme one, and, since they did not permit Your Majesty to know, had no hope of help, I strove to take steps toward saving what had been won by such labour and danger (for such a loss would have been a disaster to the service of God, our Lord and that of Your Cæsarian Majesty), and also ourselves from the peril which menaced us. I hastened therefore to find copper in the provinces, offering a good price that it might be the more quickly found; and, as soon as it was brought to me in sufficient quantity, I set a master of artillery, who was fortunately here, at making two medium-sized culverins. These came out so well that, considering their size, they could not have been better. Besides the copper, tin was required for these, as they could not be made without it, and, though with great difficulty and cost, I had procured some from people who had tin plates or other vessels; but neither dear nor cheap could much be found, so I began to enquire whether there was any in the country. Thanks to our Lord, who always provides speedily what is most needed, some small pieces of it were found among the natives of a province, called Tachco, in the form of very thin coins; and continuing my search I discovered that in that province and many others this was used as money; I further learned that it was mined in the province of Tachco, twenty-six leagues from this city so I sent Spaniards with implements there and they brought me a sample of metal. From this time forward I ordered the necessary quantity to be extracted, and shall continue to work these mines, though it will be difficult; while searching for these metals a rich vein of iron was found as I learned from those who say they know it.
Since finding this tin, I have made, and daily continue to make cannon; so far there are five pieces, two ​medium-sized culverins, two a little smaller, and a serpentine cannon; I have two falconets which I brought with me to these parts and a medium-sized culverin Manufac- ture of Ammunition which I bought from the sale of the adelantado Juan Ponce de Leon. I shall have in large and small bronzes all those which have arrived on the ships at Vera Cruz, thirty-five pieces and of iron Lombardy guns, culverins of smaller calibre, and other guns and field pieces of smelt iron up to seventy pieces. Thus — our Lord be praised — we are able to defend ourselves; and as far as ammunition is concerned, God provided for that likewise, for we found a sufficient quantity of saltpetre of the best quality and vessels in which to bake it, though there was much waste at first. As for sulphur, I have spoken to Your Majesty of that mountain in the province of Mexico which smokes. A Spaniard descended by means of a rope, seventy or eighty fathoms, and obtained a sufficient quantity to last us in our need; but henceforward there will be no necessity of going to this trouble because it is dangerous and I shall always write to obtain these things from Spain since Your Majesty has been pleased that there should be no longer any Bishop to prevent it.
After establishing peace in Santistevan, which was founded on the river Panuco, and having finished the conquest of Tututepeque, and despatched the Transfer of Medellin captain who went to Impilcingoand to Coliman, all of which I mentioned in one of the past chapters, I went, before going to the city, to visit Vera Cruz and Medellin that I might provide certain necessary things in those ports. I observed that for want of any Spanish settlement near the port of Chalchiqueca other than that of ​Vera Cruz all the ships arriving there unloaded in that town: the port is far from being safe, and many ships are lost there on account of the Northers that frequently blow. I therefore sought a place nearer the port of San Juan suitable for founding a town, but, in spite of our efforts, we found nothing but drifting sandhills, until finally, after some days' search, it pleased our Lord that, two leagues from the port, a good site, with all requisites for establishing a town was found; for there was plenty of wood and water and pasturage, though there was no timber nor stone for building purposes except quite far from there. We found an inlet near this place, and I sent to see if it led to the sea or if barques might come up it to the town. It was found to lead to a river which flowed into the sea; and at the mouth of the river there was more than a fathom of water, so that by cleaning that inlet, which is full of trunks of trees, the barques could ascend to the very houses of the town and unload their cargoes. Seeing the convenience of this site for the safety of the ships, I moved thither the town of Medellin, which was about twenty leagues in the interior of the province of Tatalptetelco; and already most of the householders have gone there and built their houses, and steps have been taken to clear that inlet and establish a custom house, for although the ships are delayed in discharging, by means of canoes over a distance of two leagues, they will have safe anchorage. I am certain that this town will be second to the capital in New Spain, for already some ships have unloaded there, and barques and even brigantines bring their merchandise right up to the houses of the town. I will endeavour to arrange so that they may unload without trouble, and the ships will henceforward be safe in that good port; I have likewise hastened to make roads from that town to this city, so that the merchandise will be more quickly delivered than at present and the distance shortened. ​In the past chapters, Most Powerful Lord, I have told Your Excellency to what points I had sent people, both by sea and land, believing that, with God's Search for the strait guidance, Your Majesty would be well served by them; and, as I always take great care and bethink me of all possible means to carry out my desires for the advancement of the royal service of Your Majesty, it seemed to me that it remained only to explore the coast from Panuco to the coast of Florida, which was discovered by Juan Ponce de Leon, and from there to follow the coast of Florida towards the north as far as the Bacallaos. For it is believed absolutely that there is a strait on that coast which leads to the South Sea, and if it should be found according to a certain drawing which I have of that coast, it must lead very near to where the Archipelago was discovered by Magellanes under Your Highness's commands. And should it please God, our Lord, that the said strait be found there, it would open a good and short passage from the spiceries to these dominions of Your Majesty quite two-thirds shorter than that which is at present followed, and which will be free from risks and dangers to the ships; for they would then always go and come through the dominions of Your Majesty having facilities for repairs in any port they choose to enter. I thought over to myself the great service which would be rendered to Your Majesty, though I am quite wasted and exhausted by all I have done, and spent in the expeditions ​I have fitted out by land and sea and in providing ammunition and artillery in this city, and in many other expenses and outlays which daily occur; for all our provisions are expensive and of such excessive prices that, although the country is rich, the income I obtain does not correspond to the outlays, costs, and expenses which I have — yet repeating all I have said before, and setting all personal interest aside, I have determined to prepare three caravels and a brigantine, of which the cost will reach more than ten thousand pesos of gold which I swear to Your Majesty I shall have to borrow. I add this new service to those I have already rendered, for I hold it to be the most important, hoping as I do to find the strait; and even if this should not be found, certainly many good and rich countries will be discovered, where Your Cæsarian Majesty will be served, and other dominions in considerable number will be brought under Your Imperial Crown. If there be no such strait, then it will be useful that this be known, so that other means may be discovered by which Your Caesarian Majesty may draw profits from the Spicelands and other countries bordering on them. Thus I hold myself at Your Majesty's service, very happy if you will so command me, and, in the absence of the strait, I hope to conquer these countries at less expense than anyone else; but I pray the Lord, nevertheless, that my armada may attain the object I pursue, which is to discover the strait, for that would be the happiest of all results. Of this I am well convinced, because, to the royal good fortune of Your Majesty, nothing can be denied, and diligence and good preparation and zeal will not be wanting on my part to achieve it.
I likewise expect to send the ships I have built on the South Sea, which vessels — our Lord being willing — will sail down the coast at the end of July of this year 1524 in search of the same strait; for if it exists it cannot ​escape both those who go by the South Sea and those who go by the North; for the South Sea Expedition will go till they either find it or reach the country discovered by Magellanes, and those of the North, as I have already said, until they reach the Bacallaos. Thus on one side or the other we cannot fail to discover the secret. I certify to Your Majesty that, judging by my information, I should have obtained greater returns and rendered greater service to Your Majesty by sending these ships to the countries up the coast of the South Sea, but, as I am informed of Your Majesty's desire to discover this strait, and of the greater service your royal crown would thereby receive, I ignore all other profits and interests to follow this other expedition. May our Lord grant it as it best pleases Him, and may Your Majesty's desire be satisfied, and my desire to serve be likewise gratified.
Your Majesty's officials sent to take charge of Your Royal revenues and assets have arrived, and have begun to take the accounts of those who previously had this charge, which I in Your Highness's name had given them. As these officials will submit the statement which has been kept until now to show Your Majesty, I will not speak of it again, in any particular, but refer myself to their report, believing that it will be one from which Your Majesty may perceive the solicitude and vigilance that I have always exercised in everything touching Your Royal service. Although the occupation of the wars and the pacification of this country has been so great, as is manifested by the above, I have nevertheless not forgotten to take special care to collect and secure the greatest possible revenues for Your Majesty.
It will appear by the copy of the accounts which the said officials send to Your Cæsarian Majesty that I have used some sixty-two thousand pesos in gold from Your Royal revenues in all the necessary expenses of pacifying these countries and the extension of the dominions Your ​Majesty holds in them. It is well that Your Highness should know that I could not do otherwise for I began to spend these monies only after I had nothing left of my own to spend, and when I even owed more than thirty thousand pesos of gold which I had borrowed. As there was nothing else to be done, and as I could not otherwise meet the necessary demands of the royal service of Your Highness, I was forced to spend these sums; and I do not believe that the result obtained, and to be obtained, is very small, for it certainly pays a profit of one thousand per cent. Although Your Majesty's officials are satisfied that the amounts have been spent in your service, they will not enter them in the account, for they say they have no power to do this. I beseech Your Majesty to order that it be shown they were properly spent, and admit them in the account, and also to command fifty odd thousand pesos of gold which I have spent out of my own fortune or have borrowed from my friends to be repaid me for if this is not returned to me I shall be unable to repay those who loaned me them, and will find myself in great want. I do not think that Your Catholic Majesty will permit this, but rather order that they be paid me, and will grant me many and greater favours in addition, because, Your Highness being so Catholic and so Christian a Prince, my own services are not without merit, to which the fruits they have produced bear testimony.
I have learned from these officials, and from other persons who came with them, as well as by letters from Fate of the Treasure Spain, that the articles I sent Your Caesarian Majesty by Antonio de Quinones and Alonzo de Avila, my procurators in New Spain, did not reach Your Royal presence having been captured by the French ​because of the little care which the Casa de Contratacion at Seville used for their transport from the Azores. All the objects which were sent were so rich and so strange that I greatly desired Your Majesty might see them, for, besides the profit Your Highness would have from them, my services would have become more apparent; and I was much grieved for their loss. I do rejoice, however, that they were taken, because Your Majesty has but small need of them and I will endeavour to send others much richer and more curious, judging from the information I have about provinces I have now sent to conquer, and others which I will conquer when I have people for the purpose. The French and the other princes to whom those things may become known will also know through them the reason why they are subjected to the Imperial Crown of Your Cæsarian Majesty, as, besides many great kingdoms which Your Highness has in these parts, so far and distant, from these, I, the humblest of Your vassals, come rendering such and so many services. In fulfilment of my offers, I now send by Diego de Soto my servant some trifles, which were formerly left behind as not worthy to accompany the others, and some which I have since then obtained, which, although as I have before said, they were refused as unworthy, bear some resemblance to the others. I likewise send a silver culverin, which in its smelting required two thousand four hundred and fifty pounds, in which I believe there was even some gold, ​for it had to be done twice. It was very costly, as, besides the value of the metal, which amounted to twentyfour thousand pesos of gold, the mark of silver being at five dollars of gold, the cost of founding, engraving, and carriage to the port, came to more than three thousand pesos more. I set myself to make it so rich and so noteworthy and fit to go before such a High and Most Excellent Prince, that I beg of Your Majesty to receive my small gift measuring its value by my devotion and disposition to send greater if I possibly could; for though I am indebted, as I heretofore stated to Your Highness, I willingly went deeper into debt, desiring that Your Majesty might know my zeal, for I have been made so unhappy by the many contradictions I have suffered before Your Highness that I have never heretofore had opportunity to manifest this desire.
I likewise send Your Sacred Majesty sixty thousand pesos of gold, belonging to Your Royal revenues as Your Highness will see by the account which the officers and myself send respecting it, and we venture to send this sum together because we imagine that Your Majesty must need it on account of the wars and other things, and also that Your Majesty need not regret the past loss. Hereafter, every time occasion offers, I shall send to Your Majesty the most of what I obtain, and Your Sacred Majesty may believe, as things are being developed, that these kingdoms and dominions of Your Highness will provide surer revenues, with less cost than any of your kingdoms and dominions in Europe; that is, if no other such embarrassments present themselves as have ​heretofore arisen. I say this because, I learned from Gonzalo de Salazar, factor to Your Highness, who arrived two days since, at the port of San Juan in New Spain that he was informed in the island of Cuba, where he stopped, that Diego Velasquez, lieutenant of the admiral there, had had an understanding with Cristobal de Olid, whom I had sent to Hibueras, to revolt against me in his favour. This proceeding seemed so contrary to Your Majesty's service that I am unable to believe it; nevertheless, on the other hand, knowing that the said Diego Velasquez has always sought to work me mischief and to disturb me in every possible way, and even to prevent people from coming to these parts, I do believe it. In that island he imprisons those who go there from here, and oppresses them, taking away their goods, and afterwards bringing judicial proceedings against them so that they, to obtain their freedom and escape him, do and say anything he pleases. I shall inform myself of the truth, and, if I find it to be thus, I think to send to arrest Diego Velasquez and deliver him to Your Majesty; because by cutting the root of these evils — which this man is — all the branches will decay, and I shall be able to make effectual the services I have begun and those which I hope to undertake.
Each time I have written Your Sacred Majesty, I have told Your Highness of the preparation made for the conversion to our holy religion of the Indians Plans to Convert the Indians of these parts, and I have since besought Your Cæsarian Majesty to provide religious persons of good life and example; but so far very few or almost none have come. It is positive they would obtain great fruit, and I have again to recall it to Your Highness's memory, beseeching you to order some provision in this with all possible haste, because God, our Lord, will be much pleased, and Your Majesty's desire as a Catholic in this matter will be gratified. The procurators Antonio ​Quiñones and Alonzo de Avila, counsellors of the towns of New Spain, and myself, begged Your Majesty to send us bishops and other prelates to administer the offices and divine cult, for it then appeared to us that this was necessary, but, examining the matter more fully, it now seems to me Your Sacred Majesty should order other measures to be provided for the more speedy conversion of the natives, and that they may be better instructed in the mysteries of our holy faith. This would be as follows:
Your Majesty should order many religious men to come to these parts, as I have already said, who would be zealous for the conversion of infidels; houses and monasteries would be provided for them in the provinces which we would indicate, and a tithe of one tenth may be levied for their support; the surplus would be assigned for the churches and their furnishings in the towns where Spaniards live, and to their clergy. The tithes would be collected by Your Majesty's officials who would keep account of them and provide all such monasteries and churches with necessaries; the amount will be enough and more than enough so that Your Majesty may receive the surplus. Let Your Highness beseech His Holiness to concede Your Majesty the tithes in these parts for this purpose, making him understand the service rendered to God, our Lord; and this can only be obtained in this way, because, if we have the bishops and other prelates, they will follow the customs, which as a punishment for our sins exist to-day, of disposing of the gifts of the Church and wasting them in pomps and other vices, leaving family estates for their children. ​A still worse evil might happen, for the natives of these parts had, in their times, those who conducted their rites and ceremonies who were so strict not only in composure and honesty, but also in chastity, that if one was discovered violating his vows he was punished with death; if they now saw the servants of God's Church in the power of Mammon, practising vanities, and learned that they were ministers of God, and beheld them falling into vice, as is the case in our times in Spain, it would bring our Faith into contempt and the natives would hold it as a mockery; and this would do such mischief that I do not believe any amount of preaching would be of any avail. As this is of such importance, and the principal object of Your Majesty is, and should be, the conversion of these people, those who reside here in Your Royal name should behave as becomes Christians. I have wished to give this information and my opinion which I pray Your Highness to accept as coming from your subject and vassal, who has worked with all his vital powers, and will ever strive to extend Your Majesty's kingdoms and dominions in these parts and to publish Your Royal fame and great power among these people: and who likewise desires and will strive that Your Highness may sow amongst them our Holy Faith meriting thereby the eternal reward to everlasting life. As the giving of holy orders, the consecration of churches, ornaments, oils and chrism, and other functions require a bishop, and, we not having any, it would be difficult to seek them elsewhere, Your Majesty should likewise beseech His Holiness to grant such powers to two principal persons amongst the religious men coming here, who might be as special delegates, one from the Order of ​St. Francis, and the other from the Order of St. Dominic. They should bring the most extensive powers Your Majesty can obtain, because these countries are so distant from the Roman Church, and the Christians who actually live here and will hereafter reside here are so far from religious discipline and, as human beings, subject to sin, that His Holiness should grant to these religious men very ample powers to be handed down by persons who always reside here, be it either to one General or to a Provincial of each Order in this country.
The tithes farmed in these countries have been farmed in some of the towns, and in others they are offered by public crier; they have been farmed since the year 1523 until now, for before then it did not seem to me that they should be levied, as they were insignificant in themselves, and because at that time those who had land spent more in keeping themselves during the war than their profits amounted to. Whatever else Your Majesty may command for your services will be done.
The tithes of this city for the year 1523 and 1524 were adjudged to the highest bidder for five thousand five hundred and fifty pesos of gold, and those of the towns of Medellin and Vera Cruz are estimated at one thousand pesos of gold. For the present year they are not yet adjudged, and I believe they will go still higher; I do not know how much the other towns brought, as they are distant and I have as yet no information. This money will be used to build churches, pay priests and sacristans, providing the ornaments and other necessary things for their upkeep. The different accounts will be submitted to the treasurer and the accountant of Your ​Majesty, for everything will be paid to the treasurer and nothing expended without an order from the accountant or myself.
I have likewise, most Catholic Lord, been informed by ships from the island that Your Majesty's judges and officials living in the island of Hispaniola have Trade Relations ordered a prohibition to be published by the public crier against exporting, under pain of death, any mares or other breeding animals to New Spain; and they have done this with the intention of forcing us always to buy beasts and cattle from them which they sell at excessive prices. This they should not do, and the mischief done to Your Majesty is notorious, for the peopling and pacification of this country are retarded; they know our need of horses, and have forbidden their exportation out of excessive love of gain, for it is clear that no need of their port has provoked this measure. I beg Your Majesty that it be revoked, by sending an injunction under Your Royal hand that everyone may export mares without being exposed to any penalty, for, besides that they would not miss the horses, Your Majesty has the greatest interest that we should have all we require, as we cannot otherwise continue our conquest, nor preserve what we have already conquered; moreover, I would pay very liberally for these mares. In any case, I could revenge myself in such a manner that they would gladly revoke their mandates and edicts, for, by retaliating and prohibiting all products of these islands from entering this country, save only what they had forbidden, they would gladly allow the one in order to be allowed the other. Their only resource is in trading with this country, and, heretofore, a thousand pesos of gold could not be found amongst all the householders of the island, while now they have more than they ever had at any time. Rather than give occasion to evil speakers and maligners, I have dissembled until I could ​make it known to Your Majesty, so that Your Highness might order whatever seems required for Your Royal service.
I have also explained to Your Cæsarian Majesty the need for plants of all kinds; for every species of agriculture may flourish here; but nothing has been so far provided, and I again pray Your Majesty to order a provision from the Casa de la Contratacion at Seville, so that no ship be allowed to sail without bringing a certain number of plants which would favour the population and prosperity of the country.
I seek by every possible means to increase the population of these countries, that the Spanish settlers and natives of them should preserve themselves and propogate, and that our Holy Faith be built up in every respect. As Your Majesty has done me the favour to charge me with its government, and God, our Lord, has pleased to make me the medium of bringing it under the imperial yoke of Your Highness, therefore I order certain ordinances to be published, of which I send a copy to Your Majesty, and hence need not explain, except to say that in my judgment, it is necessary that these ordinances should be obeyed. The Spaniards here are ​not satisfied with some of them, especially those which require them to settle in the country, for all, or most of them, expected to conduct themselves here as they have done in the islands; where their conduct consisted in consuming the country's substance, destroying, and afterwards abandoning it. But, as it seems to me, we who have had experience in the past, would be blamable, did we not provide a remedy for the present and the future, correcting notorious abuses which caused ills on the said islands; especially as this country being, as I have already many times written to Your Majesty, of such size and wealth, where our Lord may be well served, and the royal revenues of Your Majesty increased. I, therefore, beseech Your Majesty to have the ordinances examined, and to send me an order respecting what Your Highness may approve, directing me what to do, not only concerning the compliance with the said ordinances, but also in how far Your Majesty desires their execution. I shall always be careful to add whatever circumstances may seem to me to require, for the country is so large, the climate so diverse, and there are so many new discoveries, that it is necessary to modify plans and counsels according to new events, so that if in anything I had said, or shall hereafter say to Your Majesty, there seems to be something contradictory to what I had said before, Your Excellency may believe that the new case obliges me to give a new opinion.
Most invincible Cæsar, may God, our Lord, guide, ​prosper, and preserve the person of Your Majesty, and grant extension of greater kingdoms and lordships for very lengthy times in His Holy Service, and everything else which Your Highness may desire.
From the great City of Temixtitan in this New Spain on 15 October, 1524.
Your Sacred Majesty's very humble subject and loyal vassal who kisses the Royal feet of Your Majesty.
Ferdinand Cortes.
* ↑ Diego de Ordaz was a native of Tierra de Campo, and first came to Mexico when he was forty years old, with Juan de Grijalba; he was a Captain of infantry under Cortes, and conducted the first ascent of Popocatepetl, for which exploit he was afterwards granted a volcano in his armorial bearings. He received the Knighthood of Santiago, and died as Governor of Maranon.
* ↑ Catzolcin, King of Michoacan and ruler of Xalisco; he was afterwards burned alive with many of his nobles by Nuño de Guzman, who first robbed him of ten thousand marks of silver, a quantity of gold, and six thousand men for his army.
* ↑ Zacatula was the first port established on the Pacific coast. Cortes made a dock-yard there. It still bears the same name and is situated just north of Acapulco.
* ↑ Not to be confounded with the other town of the same name in the present state of Puebla.
* ↑ Diego de Ocampo was from Caceres; he was the first navigator who reached Peru, having sailed from Tehuantepec in his own ship. He was one of those left in charge of the Government by Cortes when he went to Spain.
* ↑ Tututepec in the State of Puebla.
* ↑ Metztithlan.
* ↑ Juan de Fonseca, Bishop of Burgos and titular [Archbishop of Rosano, was of noble family, and when Dean of Seville had been named by King Ferdinand to the presidency of the newly constituted Royal Council for the Indies, which had charge of the affairs of the recently discovered realms in the New World. This appointment was singularly unfortunate as he possessed no aptitude for the post, and, being of choleric temper, touchy, vindictive, and given to favouritism, he seems never to have grasped the possibilities of his office, or to have comprehended the meaning of the events, whose course he was called upon to shape. Instead of aiding and encouraging the daring men who were eager to stake everything, including their lives, in great enterprises, he almost invariably vexed and persecuted them, perverting his great power to thwart the very undertakings it was his business to favour. He was bitterly hostile to Columbus, continuing his opposition to his son Diego. The story of his dealings with Cortes sufficiently appears from the accounts in these Letters. The Emperor's eyes were finally opened to his incurable defects of character, and his influence received its death-blow from the transactions of his agents with Cortes. He died March 14, 1524, having done his worst during thirty years with the interests confided to his direction.
* ↑ Referring to the uprising of the Town Corporations in Spain, provoked by a grant of subsidies which the Cortes held in Galicia made to the king, without having first obtained from him the settlement of long standing grievances which awaited his adjustment. The Corporations were powerful bodies, governed by independent and democratic principles, possessing charters which granted them valuable privileges and immunities which they jealously defended against the Crown, the Church, and the Nobles. They sent representatives to the Cortes and could check the royal power by refusing funds. When, therefore, the Cortes subserviently voted the supplies asked by Charles V., who was in haste to leave for Germany where he had been elected Emperor, the cities revolted. Toledo, setting the example, under the leadership of Juan de Padilla was followed by Burgos, Segovia Zamora, and others, including Valladolid, where the cardinal-regent was then living.
* ↑ Casa de Contratacion, or India house as Prescott aptly translates the name, was created for the administration of affairs in America.
* ↑ The title given to the Governor of a province, and which, in the case of the Spanish discoverers, meant the Commander of an exploring expedition who was empowered to colonise and establish a Government of which he should be the head, in any countries he might discover. Las Casas sarcastically explained the etymology of the title saying "porque se adelantaron en hacer males y daños tan gravissimos a gentes pacificos" (because they took the lead in perpetrating such great evils and injuries on peaceful people).
* ↑ Diego Columbus had obtained a royal decree from the Cardinal-Regent (afterwards Adrian VI.), during the Emperor's absence in Germany, which was dated from Burgos in 1521, authorising him to colonise the Panuco country.
* ↑ The present Coscatlan at the mouth of the Huasteca River.
* ↑ The small lake of Chila near the mouth of the river Panuco.
* ↑ San Estevan del Puerto was built on a narrow strip of land separating Lake Chila from the sea. Pedro de Valleja was placed there as his lieutenant.
* ↑ Lobos marinos are sometimes called sea-dogs. The figs were the fruit of the nopal or Mexican cactus, commonly called tunas, which are very refreshing.
* ↑ The island of the Amazons turned out to be a myth. Another such island is mentioned in Pigafetta's letter on Magellan's voyage as existing in the Malay Archipelago, called Acoloro near Java, but he says that he only heard of it from a pilot (Primo Viaggio Intorno al Mondo, Ant. Pigafetta, translated by A. Robertson, 1905).
* ↑ This coast was first reached by Rodrigo de Bastidas and Nicuesa in 1502; the survivors of the expedition of Nicuesa and Ojeda founded a town there which Encisa named Santa Maria Antigua, in honour of the Blessed Virgin venerated under that title in Seville; Vasco Nuñez de Balboa was Governor, and Pizarro, who later conquered Peru, was one of Ojeda's companions. The hardships endured by Ojeda and his men were beyond all human endurance, and the description of their sufferings from disease, famine, shipwreck, and rebellions within the colony, and fighting the Indians without, is one of the most harrowing tales of human misery and human courage anywhere to be read. Cortes was providentially prevented from joining this expedition by a swelling on his knee which laid him up. The pilot and cosmographer, Juan de la Cosa, was killed by a poisoned arrow. Ojeda himself survived, but died poor and obscure in San Domingo. Gomara (Hist. Gen.) says that he became a monk, but Las Casas who mentions his wish to be buried under the threshold of the Church of St. Francisco, so that all who entered might tread upon his grave as an act of expiation for his sins of pride, does not mention that he belonged to any religious order. The end of Nicuesa was even more unfortunate, for he was driven from Darien by the rebellious colonists, and, putting to sea with a few followers in an unseaworthy vessel, poorly provisioned, was never seen again.
* ↑ 1 The fortunate arrival of the Emperor's letter forbidding Garay to interfere in any way with Cortes's administration, or to settle any lands already occupied by him, nipped this very serious difficulty in the bud. Alvarado's prompt success with Ovalle, who yielded with scarcely a show of resistance, suggests that a little golden diplomacy may have been used with him and his men, as had been successfully employed with Narvaez's followers under similar circumstances. The ship's captains were equally amenable, and Grijalba could not make good his intention to fight. The exhibition of the royal cedula rendered Garay powerless, his prestige amongst his followers was hopelessly damaged, and, meanwhile, their imaginations had been so fired by the alluring tales of Alvarado and Ocampo that the majority were deaf to their leader's commands and entreaties. They had the technical excuse that they had engaged for an expedition to Panuco under certain stipulated conditions, but for nowhere else, and, as to Panuco, Garay could not go, their contract no longer bound them. Ocampo, to whom Garay appealed to uphold his authority, made a show of beating the country for fugitives, but was careful to collect only the least desirable men, those known as adherents of Velasquez, whom he was glad to see leave the country. Reduced to these straits, Garay went to Mexico where Cortes played the magnanimous, receiving him as an old friend and arranged a marriage between his daughter Catalina and Garay's eldest son. On Christmas eve, Garay assisted at midnight mass with Cortes and breakfasted with him afterwards; the same day he was seized with violent pains and died a few days later; so opportune did his death seem to some, that whispers of poison were not wanting. The rising of the Indians of Panuco provoked by Garay's lawless followers under command of his son, whose authority they ignored, was one of the most formidable of its kind, and its suppression by Alvarado was marked by the ferocious cruelty characteristic of him. Ocampo, as lieutenant of Cortes, presided as judge at the sham trial, passing barbarous sentence on about four hundred prisoners, the chiefs and principal men of the tribes. Of these some were burned, while others were hanged, and, in order that the lesson might not be lost on the Indians, they were compelled to be present at this ghastly execution which took place en masse. The proposed marriage between Doña Catalina and the son of Garay never took place, for she is mentioned in the bull of legitimisation, in 1529, as a maiden: and, in her father's will, made in 1547, she is mentioned as being in a convent in Coyohuacan. It is difficult to identify her mother, for Archbishop Lorenzana says she was the daughter of Cortes 's first wife Catalina Xuarez; others affirm that her mother was Marina de Escobar, and still others that she was the daughter of Doña Elvira (daughter of Montezuma), in which case she would have been an infant at the time of her betrothal to Garay.
* ↑ Tanjuco: a small village, one hundred and twenty-seven miles from the mouth of the Panuco, and less than half that distance overland. The Panuco country was carefully visited and described, in 1826, by Captain Lyon, whose Journal contains much interesting information about the land and people. He found the Guasteca language was spoken there.
* ↑ Possibly Tantoyuca.
* ↑ Possibly Tamuy or Tancanhuici.
* ↑ Some authors have sought to cast doubts upon the number burned, Herrera even reducing them to thirty, but the language of Cortes seems to be sufficiently explicit. To drive the lesson well home, the Indians were all assembled to witness this frightful execution of their relatives. Gonzalo de Sandoval was the Captain commanding in this war, and it is with reluctance that we record this black deed against his otherwise exceptionally fair fame.
* ↑ See Appendix at the close of this Letter.
* ↑ Olid's expedition left Vera Cruz on January zz, 1524, and stopped first at Cuba, where the commander fell under the influence of Diego Velasquez, who incited him to throw off the authority of Cortes and act independently. The first news of his insubordination was brought to Cortes by the factor, Gonzalo de Salazar, and led to his sending his kinsman, Francisco de las Casas, to recall Olid to his obedience. Olid had sent a part of his forces against Gonzalo de Avila, who was also exploring in that country, and, upon Las Casas's arrival, he temporised, seeing that he could not successfully resist; and while thus gaining time, he sent hurriedly to recall his men. A violent storm drove the ships of Las Casas on the coast, and thus he and his men were easily captured, and, at the same time, Gonzalo de Avila was likewise taken, so Olid's star was in the ascendant. His triumph was short lived, however, for he had rendered himself very unpopular in the colony, of which fact his prisoners, who had complete liberty to go about, with the sole restriction that they were not to carry arms, took advantage to plan a successful rebellion against him. He was captured, and, after a summary trial, was beheaded in the public square of Naco. The Audiencia of San Domingo had sought to forestall these conflicts amongst Spaniards, by sending their agent, the bachelor Moreno, to order Las Casas back to Vera Cruz, to put an end to the contests between Olid and Avila, and to stop Pedro de Alvarado, who was marching overland against Olid by order of Cortes. Moreno's proceedings, and those of his companion Ruano, are recounted in the memorial read by the colonists to Cortes, which the latter transcribes in the Fifth Letter for the Emperor's information.
* ↑ Ucatlan.
* ↑ Obsidian: a vitreous mineral substance, harder than glass, which was called iztli by the Aztecs. They gave it such a keen edge that it served for knives and razors as well as spearheads.
* ↑ Tlatelolco and Popotla were the quarters of the new town assigned to the Indians. A plan was drawn in which each concession of ground was marked; one lot was given to anyone who applied, on the condition that he should build a house and live there for four consecutive years. Each of the conquerors, as Cortes says, was entitled to two lots.
* ↑ The Indian market remained where it had been in Tlatelolco; the Spanish one was on the square before the Viceroy's palace. The Indians either speedily forgot their arts and handicrafts, or concealed them: unwise laws were enacted which tended also to suppress them. Archbishop Lorenzana relates an incident illustrating the extraordinary ability of the Indians in executing the most delicate work with primitive tools. A native counterfeiter was arrested and his whole outfit was found to consist of nothing but some thorns from the maguey or cactus plant. The Viceroy was so amazed that he offered the man his life if he would show how he worked, but the Indian preferred to die.
* ↑ Tasco. Humboldt was struck with this mention of tin money and notes "le passage remarquable dans lequel Cortes parle de Vetain comme monnaie" (Essai Politique).
* ↑ Francisco Montaño was the daring soldier who performed this exploit, which Humboldt refuses to believe, notwithstanding the explicit statement of Cortes. That he was let down into the crater, and did bring back the required sulphur can hardly be questioned: perhaps the exact distance he descended was not accurately measured.
* ↑ Bacallaos. This is the first known project for finding the northwest passage. Bacallaos, or the sea of codfish was so-called from the vast numbers of these fish which have been such an important article of commerce on our North Atlantic coasts. The Spaniards reached Newfoundland, called by them Terra Nuova; and Archbishop Lorenzana mentions in one of his notes that the Marques del Valle (in his time) bore the title of Duke of Terranuova. This is true, but has no reference to the discovery of that land by Cortes's efforts, as the title was created by Philip II., in 1561, and given to Don Carlos de Aragon, second Marques of Terranuova, who married Doña Stefana, a great granddaughter of Cortes.
* ↑ This treasure never reached its destination. Alonzo de Avila and Antonio de Quiñones, the two officers charged to carry the gifts and letters to the Emperor, first stopped at the island of Santa Maria, one of the Azores, where Quiñones was killed in a brawl; Avila was captured off Cape St. Vincent, by a French corsair, Florin, who, after robbing the ship of the precious freight, allowed it to continue its voyage to Seville, where it arrived on November 7, 1522. Avila was carried by Florin to La Rochelle, but found means to send his despatches to the Emperor. The Aztec spoils went to enrich the treasury of Francis I. of France, who justified their capture by saying he knew of no provision in father Adam's will which made his brother of Spain sole heir to all the earth's treasures.
* ↑ It weighed about twenty-three hundred-weight; the ornamentation executed by the best native silversmiths displayed a phœnix underneath which was the following inscription: Aquesta nacid sin par, Yo en serviros sin segundo: Vos sin igual en el mundo. Cavo says this legend provoked much invidious comment at the Spanish Court.
* ↑ Archbishop Lorenzana agrees with other authorities that there were bishops and canons in Spain who led far from exemplary lives, but says this state of things was fortunately brought to a close by the disciplinary enactments of the Council of Trent. Cortes also objected to doctors, and more especially to lawyers; he earnestly begged the Emperor to forbid members of these learned professions to come to Mexico, saying that the doctors would only bring new diseases
* ↑ Charles V. acted on this suggestion, and the Pope, at his instance, gave to Padre Toribio de Benevente (Motolinia) power to give confirmation, but not to consecrate holy oils. The first superior of Franciscans was Friar Martin de Valencia, and of the Dominicans, Friar Vetanzos, who built the first convent near Texcoco, at a place called Tepetlaxtoc (Lorenzana, Relation Quarta, note).
* ↑ Pan-American reciprocity in embryo.
* ↑ Some of the enactments of Cortes were as strict as any Puritan could prescribe. Married colonists were obliged to bring their wives to their plantations within eighteen months, under pain of forfeiting their grant: those who were unmarried were given the same period within which to,find wives (Gomara, Hist. Mex. Ordenanzas Municipales apud Pacheco and Cardenas). Sumptuary laws regulated the wearing of velvets, silks, and brocades, or their use for saddles, shoes, and sword-belts, as well as jewels, gold ornaments, and embroideries (Herrera, Hist. General, Dec, III lib. 5; Puya, Cedulario). Sunday observance was very rigid, and all shops were closed; trades of every kind were suspended during the hours of religious services, while attendance at mass was compulsory on Sundays and great feast days (Pacheco and Cardeñas). The incident of Cortes submitting to a public whipping for failing to attend, is related in the Biographical Note.