and at the risk of
the said forces. This is a piece of excellent foresight; for if the
total amount of wages had been paid, as is customary, they would have
gambled and spent the whole in two days, and would be in need the
whole year, from which great evils would follow. For the expedition
the viceroy sent sixty thousand pesos, without considering that the
treasury here is in such a state that, even if the whole amount should
be paid into it on account of these islands, there would not be enough
to pay unavoidable debts and the loans which have been taken throughout
a whole year from private persons, some of which were granted on my
credit. I was expecting some good quantity of money on a separate
account; and I also hoped for the ordinary soldiers who are sent every
year to supply the places of those who are drowned and those who die of
disease and in battle. We are continually waging war in one province
or another, and sometimes at home. But I have been disappointed in
all this, and must expend my efforts to get on as best I can, using
some methods to prevent the service of your Majesty from failure.

As soon as I was informed that your Majesty would be pleased to
command this expedition to be undertaken, I began on the very
day when I arrived here to busy myself with the preparation of the
materials and other things necessary to build the galleys and also to
keep them in proper condition. I regard them as the most effective
means of defense for this kingdom, on account of the causes which
I have previously written to your Majesty. Accordingly, I have five
equipped. The flagship has twenty-two benches, the second in command
[_patrona_] and another have nineteen each, and two others seventeen
each. One of these two which have seventeen will be launched within a
fortnight, and has the necessary supply of rowers. These vessels are
not made larger, being thus more suitable for these regions, because
there are many shoals here; and when they are of this size they are
sufficient for the contests which they have to carry on with the
oared vessels employed by the enemy Another reason is the advantage
of keeping down the number of rowers and reducing the expenses, as I
have written your Majesty. These galleys have turned out very well,
because I found here a good foreman; and although he died a few days
ago, I have had the good fortune to find a second, a Genovese, a good
workman. He is well known in Cartagena, where he built