llege man, and wrote a large, bold hand,--none too
common an accomplishment in those days, you will remember,--and signed a
beautiful autograph. He was not a great leader of men like Cortez,--his
valor sometimes ran away with his prudence; but as a field-officer he
was as dashing and brilliant as could be found.

Captain Pedro de Alvarado was a native of Seville, and came to the New
World in his young manhood, soon winning some recognition in Cuba. In
1518 he accompanied Grijalva in the voyage which discovered Mexico, and
carried back to Cuba the few treasures they had collected. In the
following year, when Cortez sailed to the conquest of the new and
wonderful land, Alvarado accompanied him as his lieutenant. In all the
startling feats of that romantic career he played a conspicuous part. In
the crisis when it became necessary to seize the treacherous Moctezuma,
Alvarado was active and prominent. He had much to do with Moctezuma
during the latter's detention as a hostage; and his frankness made him a
great favorite with the captive war-chief. He was left in command of the
little garrison at Mexico when Cortez marched off on his audacious but
successful expedition against Narvaez, and discharged that responsible
duty well. Before Cortez got back, came the symptoms of an Indian
uprising,--the famous war-dance. Alvarado was alone, and had to meet the
crisis on his own responsibility. But he was equal to the emergency. He
understood the murderous meaning of this "ghost-dance," as every
Indian-fighter does, and the way to meet it. In his unsuccessful attempt
to capture the wizards who were stirring up the populace to massacre the
strangers, Alvarado was severely wounded. But he bore his part in the
desperate resistance to the Indian assaults, in which nearly every
Spaniard was wounded. In the great fighting to hold their adobe
stronghold, and the wild sorties to force back the flood of savages, the
golden-haired lieutenant was always a prominent figure. When Cortez, who
had now returned with his reinforcements, saw that Mexico was untenable
and that their only salvation was in retreat from the lake city to the
mainland, the post of honor fell to Alvarado. There were twelve hundred
Spaniards and two thousand Tlaxcaltecan allies, and this force was
divided into three commands. The vanguard was led by Juan Velasquez, the
second division by Cortez, the third, upon which it was expected the
brunt of pursuit would fall, by Alvarad