dro, who has often been
mentioned in this history, his brothers Gonzalo, Jorge, Gomez, and his
natural brother the elder Juan Alvarado. Further we were here joined by
Alonso de Avila of Avila, who had a command in the last expedition,
under Grijalva; Juan de Escalante, Pedro Sanchez Farsan of Sevilla;
Gonzalo Mexia, subsequently treasurer at Mexico; Vaena, Juanes de
Fuentarabia, and Christobal de Oli, who had a command at the taking of
Mexico, and in all the battles fought in New Spain. Further, Ortiz, the
musician, and Gaspar Sanchez, nephew to the treasurer of Cuba; Diego de
Pinedo, Alonzo Rodriguez, who possessed some lucrative gold mines, and
Bartolome Garcia. To which may be added many other cavaliers whose
names at present I cannot remember, all personages of influence and
respectability. From this place Cortes also wrote letters to
Santispiritus, fifty-four miles from Trinidad, and made our expedition
known to the public there. He knew so well how to mix up his sentences
with inviting expressions and great promises, that many of the first
personages of that town were thereby induced to join us. These were
Hernando Puertocarrero, cousin to the earl of Medellin, and Gonzalo de
Sandoval, who had been eight months alguacil-major and governor, and was
afterwards a commander in New Spain; also Juan Velasquez de Leon, a
relation of Diego Velasquez; Rodrigo Rangel, Gonzalo Lopez de Ximena,
with his brother Juan Lopez, and Juan Sedeno. This latter gentleman was
an inhabitant of Santispiritus, and had joined Cortes because of the two
other Sedenos who were among us. These gentlemen, who were all men of
consequence, had arrived at the same time in Trinidad, when Cortes,
accompanied by the whole of us, went out to meet them. Cannons were
fired, and other rejoicings took place on this occasion, while
professions of esteem and friendship were past from one party to the
other. All these men possessed land in the neighbourhood of this town,
where they ordered cassave-bread to be made, and bacon to be cured, and
otherwise collected all the provisions they possibly could for our
vessels. Here also we hired soldiers, and purchased some horses, which
latter, at that time, were very scarce, and only to be had at exorbitant
prices. Alonso Hernandez de Puertocarrero, whom I had previously known,
had not sufficient money to purchase himself a horse; Cortes, therefore,
bought one for him, and paid for it with the golden borders of the
vel