which we considered as an
indication of hostility, which was in fact their first intention; but
after five days, they came in and made their submissions, presenting some
trinkets of fine gold to Sandoval. By his orders, they collected a hundred
canoes, in which we crossed the river, sending four soldiers in advance to
examine and report the state of the country. A town was founded in this
place, which we named Villa del Espiritu Santo, because on that day we
defeated Narvaez, using that expression as our watchword, and because we
crossed this river on the same day. In this place the flower of our army
was established, which at this time mustered eighty cavalry, a greater
number in proportion than five hundred is now, horses being then very
scarce and dear. Having examined the surrounding districts, Sandoval
divided them among the different settlements. To the settlement of
Coatzacualco, he allotted Cuetzpaltepec, Tepeca, Chinantla, the Tzapotecas,
Copilco, Cimatan, Tabasco, Cachula, the Zoques, Techeapa, Cinacatan, the
Quilenes, and Papanahausta. We had a long litigation afterwards with the
district of Vera Cruz about three of these, Cuetzpaltepec, Chinantla, and
Tepeca; with Tabasco about Cimatan and Copilco; with Chiapa or Guatimala,
concerning the Quilenes and Zoques; and likewise with the town of St
Ildefonso about the Tzapotecas. I regretted having fixed myself in this
place, as the lands were very poor, and every thing turned out to my
disadvantage. We might indeed have done well enough if we had been left in
our original situation; but as new settlements were successively formed,
ours were curtailed to accommodate them, so that our colony fell into
decay; and from being the best, and containing the greatest number of the
true conquerors of Mexico, it has now very few inhabitants.

About this time Sandoval received intelligence of the arrival of Donna
Catalina, the lady of our general, in the river of Aguayalco[4],
accompanied by her brother. La Zembrana also with her family came along
with her, and Donna Elvira Lopez _the tall_, who married Juan de Palma,
who was afterwards hanged. We all went to pay our respects to the ladies,
the roads being almost impassable owing to constant heavy rain. Having
escorted Donna Catalina and the rest to our town of Coatzacualco, or
Espiritu Santo, intelligence was sent to Cortes of their arrival, and they
set out soon afterwards for Mexico. Cortes was sorry for their coming, but
h