e married Indian
women. Will your Majesty please order whether they shall, on this
account, be allowed to remain; or whether they, together with the
Indian women, shall be sent away?

I had given orders that, when any ship should come from the islands,
it should reconnoiter the coast of China on the way, in order that more
information of the land and its commerce might be obtained. I gave your
Majesty an account of this before the step was taken; and I likewise
enclosed the instructions concerning the procedure, which I thought
should be observed. General Miguel Lopez had ordered that it should
be adhered to; but when he died, it appeared to Guido de Labezarii to
be a dangerous enterprise on account of the coast being unfamiliar
and unknown, as well as a region where our ships might fall in with
Portuguese or other people. This is a fact, but nothing of importance
can be done without danger. Still we shall postpone the carrying
out of this until your Majesty shall arrange matters concerning that
land; and the person who manages affairs there will make all suitable
provision, since he will have more information upon the subject.

As I have already written your Majesty, there is a lack of artillery
here, for those islands take it all--so that I have no artillery
for a ship which I am now despatching, and which was built in the
port of Acapulco; and I shall have to take some of that brought by
the other vessels coming here. In future, will your Majesty kindly
order some to be sent both for an emergency like this, and for these
royal settlements?

Together with this ship, I will endeavor to send one of those that have
arrived here which may be repaired; and in them I wish to send all the
people able to go--a number not in excess of one hundred and eighty
men--and some munitions. The flagship, which is of larger tonnage,
will be repaired and put into shape, for it is in bad condition;
as well as another ship which was to sail thence within twenty
days. Afterward, the vessels will remain, in order that they may
go from here in a year, and take more people with them. Meanwhile,
your Majesty will have time to make such provision as you think best.

The rigging which is bought here is that conveyed by the ships from
Espana, and is very costly and very inferior in quality; but nothing
else can be done. I beg your Majesty, therefore, to send from yonder
a large quantity of rigging, both small and cable size, for ships of
smal