not permit him to
comply with this request, but he promised to transmit their request to our
general at Mexico, with an application for an auxiliary force to be sent
them, and said he could only now send a small number of his men along with
them, to observe the nature of the passes, but his real object was to
examine their mines. With this answer he dismissed them all except three,
sending eight of us along with them to explore the country and its mines.

There was another soldier of the same name with myself in this party, for
indeed there were three of us in the army named Castillo. At that time I
prided myself on my dress, and was called _Castillo the beau_. My namesake
who went on the present expedition was named _Castillo the thoughtful_, as
he was of slow speech, never replying to a question for a long while, and
then answering by some absurdity. The third was called _Castillo the
prompt_, as he was always very ready and smart in all his words. On our
arrival at the district of Xaltepec, the Indians turned over the soil in
three different rivers, in each of which they found gold, and soon filled
three tubes with it as large as a mans middle finger, with which we
returned to Sandoval, who now thought that all our fortunes would be made.
He took a district to himself, from which he very soon procured gold to
the value of 15,000 crowns. He gave the district of Xaltepec, whence we
had obtained the gold, to Captain Luis Marin, but it turned out very
indifferently. He gave me a very profitable district, which I wish to God
I had kept; it consisted of three places, named Matalan, Oztoequipa, and
Oriaca, where the _ingenio_ of the viceroy is now situated; but I thought
it more consistent with my character as a soldier to accompany Sandoval in
his military expeditions. Sandoval called his town Medellin, after the
birth-place of Cortes; and the Rio de las Vanderas, from which he procured
the 15,000 crowns, was for some time the port where the merchandise from
Spain was discharged, until Vera Cruz became the emporium.

We now marched into the province of Coatzacualco, through the district of
Citla[3], which is about twelve leagues in length and breadth, and is very
populous, having a fine climate and abounding in provisions. The chiefs
immediately submitted. On our arrival at the river of Coatzacualco, which
is the governing district of all the neighbouring tribes, the chiefs did
not make their appearance on being summoned,