ed to the accomplishment of heroic deeds. He affirmed that
before such strong arms and bold hearts all peril would vanish.
The applause with which this speech was greeted was so long and
enthusiastic that even the murmurers were soon induced to join the
acclamations. Thus adroitly Cortez again enthroned himself as the
undisputed chieftain of an enthusiastic band.

He decided immediately to establish a settlement on the sea-coast as
the nucleus of a colony. From that point as the basis of operations,
he would, with the terrors of artillery and cavalry, boldly penetrate
the interior. He assembled the principal officers of the army, and by
their suffrages elected the magistrates and a council for the new
colony. He skillfully so arranged it that all the magistrates chosen
were his warm partisans.

The council assembled for the organization of the government. As soon
as the assembly was convened, Cortez asked permission to enter it.
Bowing with the most profound respect before the new government thus
organized, that he might set an example of the most humble and
submissive obedience, he addressed them in the following terms:

"By the establishment of the colony and the organization of the
colonial government, this august tribunal is henceforth invested
with supreme jurisdiction, and is clothed with the authority, and
represents the person of the sovereign. I accordingly present myself
before you with the same dutiful fidelity as if I were addressing my
royal master. The safety of this colony, threatened by the hostility
of a mighty empire, depends upon the subordination and discipline
preserved among the troops. But my right to command is derived from a
commission granted by the Governor of Cuba. As that commission has
been long since revoked, my right to command may well be questioned.
It is of the utmost importance, in the present condition of affairs,
that the commander-in-chief should not act upon a dubious title. There
is now required the most implicit obedience to orders, and the army
can not act with efficiency if it has any occasion to dispute the
powers of its general.

"Moved by these considerations, I now resign into your hands, as the
representatives of the sovereign, all my authority. As you alone have
the right to choose, and the power to confer full jurisdiction, upon
you it devolves to choose some one, in the king's name, to guide the
army in its future operations. For my own part, such is my zeal in the