The herald., 1895-04-14
CHAPTER XXI
Of How Velasauez, Governor OF Cuba, Sent
a Great Armada Against Us. With
PamfiIo Narvaez as Captain General,
and Its Arrival at Port San Juan de Ulua

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royal council of the Indias, with whom he
was in high favor, to send an armada
against us; and, further. being much IN
censed himself. he Immediately set about
preparing great expedition to send
against US.
He gathered together 1400 soldiers. in
which were eighty horse and seventy
arouebusiers and ninety crossbowmen,
well provided with powder and ammunl-
ton of all kinds, and he had over twenty
cannon and for Captain OF the artillery,
Rodrigo Martin.
And Diego Velasquez in person, although
he was very stout man, travelled all over
the Island of Cuba gathering arms and
provisions and urging his friends to join
the armada. And for Captain General, he
named Pamfilo Naryaez. But before
this expedition was ready to sail the Real
Audencia of Santo Domingo and the friars
of the order of San Geronimo, who were
Governors of that island, learning OF 1t
from the Licenciado Zuazo, who was then
IN Cuba investigating the administration
of Diego Velasquez, and well knowing
the loyal services he had done to God and
the King, and that Diego Velasquez had
JeaSeANN
they sent at once a licenciado named
Lucas Vasquez Aillon, who was Oidor OF
the Real Audiencia, to prevent the sailing
of the armada. But neither threats nor ex-
postulations affected Diego Velasquez the
value of a castanet, for he well knew he
could rely on the powerful support OF the
Bishop or Burgos. Then the Oidor Aillon,
finding he could not prevent the sailing
of the expedition, determined to go with
it, to try if possible to bring around an
amicable arrangement between Cortes and
Narvaez.
When the armada of Pamphilo Narvaez,
which consisted of nineteen ships, was
coasting the mountains of San Martin
there came up such a violent north wind
that one of the smaller ships foundered
and most of her crew were drowned. But
in due time the balance of the ships ar
rived in the port of San Juan de Ulua.
When the soldiers, Escalona Cervantes,
FL Chocarrero, and Alonzo Hernandez
Caretero whom Cortes had sent to search
for mines on the coast, saw the armada
of Naryaez they went on board, and when
they saw themselves with NarvaeZ it is
said that they raised their hands and
thanked God who had delivered them out
of the power of Cortes, and from out the
City of Mexico where each day they had
expected death and when they were at
able with NarVaeA ne gave tnem wine so
that their tongues wagged and one of
them said to the other in the presence of
that General, Look. cofnrade is it not
better to be here drinking wine than to
be a captive in the hands of Cortes, who
terrorized us so that we were afraid to
speak and in daily expectation of death?"
Cervantes said, in order to please Mar
vaez: ''Oh. Narvaez, Narvaez, how
fortunate you are, and III what a
happy hour have you come, for this
traitor Cortes has gathered over seven
hundred thousand dollars and all of his
soldiers are discontinued because he has
taken their share of the booty"
They also informed Narvaez that about
eight leagues from there was the town of
Villa Rica, and that Gonzalo de Sandoval
was in command there with about sew
enty soldieras, but that they were all old
and sick and that if be sent a party of
soldiers there they would yield the place
at once.
When Monttzuma learned that the arma-
da of Narvaez had arrived on the coast,
he secretly sent some of his chief men,
without saying anything to Cortes, and
he ordered his Governors to give Narvaez
gold and to supply him with provisions
And NarvaeZ sent message to Montezu-
ma saying that Cortes and all of us were
robbers who had fled from CASTLE with
out pepni ssion of our King and lord
and that when he had learned of the evils
we had done in this land and of our rob-
berries. and that we had made him, Mon
tezuma, prisoner, to correct these evils
he had sent this armada. with all those
ships and soldiers and horses, to release
him from prison and to either slay us or
send us back to Spain. where we would
all be executed by order of our King
The three deserters whom have already
named acted as interpreters, for they al
ready knew something of the Aztec
tongue. When Montezuma received this
message he was highly content. for he
took it for certain that with so many
ships and soldiers Narvaez would surely
capture Cortes and all of us. The mess
engers of Montezuma were particularly
impressed by the fact that the villains
who had deserted us had Joined Narvaez
and corroborated all he had said against
US.
Montezuma knew of the arrival of Mar
vaez three days and as yet Cortes knew
noGhing of it. but on the third day, hap
pening to visit Montezuma twice that
day. the latter, who appeared in very
good humor feared that Cortes suspected
something or already knew of the arrival
of the armada and so he said to him:
Lord Malinche, ! have just been in
formed that there have arrived in the port
where you olsen barked eighteen ships
withImanysmen and horses, all of which