of his arrival at this port, dispatched
orders to Pedro Barba, commander at Havana, to arrest Cortez and seize
the fleet. But it was much easier to issue this order than to execute
it. Cortez was now too strong to be apprehended by any force which
Barba had at his command. Cortez received from a friend an intimation
of the order for his arrest which had been received from the governor.

He assembled his bold followers around him; made a rousing speech,
full of eloquence and of the peculiar piety then in vogue; painted in
glowing colors the wealth and the renown opening before them in the
vast realms of Mexico; and then portrayed, with biting sarcasm, the
jealousy and the meanness of Velasquez, who wished to deprive him of
the command of the enterprise.

[Illustration: MAP OF CUBA.]

The speech was convincing. His tumultuary followers threw up their
hats and filled the air with acclamations. They declared that they
would acknowledge Cortez, and Cortez only, as their leader; that
they would follow him wherever he might guide; that they would defend
him with their lives, and that they would wreak unsparing vengeance
upon any enemies who should attempt to molest him in his glorious
career. This was the efficient reply which Cortez made to the order
for his arrest.

The reply was not lost upon Barba. He perceived that it would be folly
to attempt to execute the command of the governor. He wrote to him
accordingly, stating the impracticability of the attempt. In fact,
Barba had no disposition to arrest Cortez. He had become strongly
attached to the bold and earnest captain. Cortez himself also wrote
a very courteous letter to the governor, with studied politeness
informing him that, with the blessing of God, he should sail the next
day, and assuring the governor of eternal devotion to his interest. As
there was some danger that Velasquez might send from St. Jago a force
sufficiently strong to cause some embarrassment, the little squadron
the next morning weighed anchor and proceeded to Cape Antonio, an
appointed place of rendezvous on the extreme western termination of
the island.

Here Cortez completed his preparations and collected all the force he
desired. He had now eleven vessels. The largest was of but one hundred
tons. Three were of but seventy tons, and the rest were open barks.
His whole force consisted of one hundred and ten seamen, five hundred
and fifty-three soldiers, two hundred Indians, and a few Indian