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who traded to the Levant, and Juan Catalan, to prove
them, and otherwise put them into good repair; also to furnish for each
the right-sized balls and proper quantity of powder. He also gave them
an assistant, named Bartolome de Usagre, and furnished them with vinegar
and wine to polish the copper pieces. In the same way all our crossbows
were inspected, and their strength ascertained by shooting at the
target. Cotton being very plentiful here we constructed ourselves
cuirasses with it, which form the most efficient protection against
Indian arrows, pikes, and slings. Here it was also that Cortes put his
establishment on a much superior footing, and had himself served as a
person of the first quality. He took for his butler a certain Guzman,
who was subsequently killed by the Indians; he must not, however, be
confounded with Christobal de Guzman, who afterwards became his steward,
and was the man whom took the king Quauhtemoctzin prisoner, during the
battle in the suburbs of Mexico. Rodrigo Rangel he appointed his
chamberlain, and Juan de Caceres his house-steward, who after the
conquest of Mexico was considered a man of great wealth. Having ordered
all these things, he commanded us to hold ourselves in readiness for
embarking, and to distribute the horses among the vessels, for which the
necessary quantity of maise and hay had been provided.

For memory's sake I will here likewise describe the horses and mares
which we took with us on our expedition. Cortes had a dark chesnut
stallion, which died afterwards at St. Juan de Ulua. Pedro de Alvarado
and Hernando Lopez d'Avila had jointly an excellent brown mare, which
had been broken-in for the field of battle as well as for tournaments.
After our arrival in New Spain, Alvarado bought Lopez's share, or
perhaps took forcible possession of it. Alonso Hernandez Puertocarrero
had a grey-coloured mare, which Cortes had purchased for him with the
golden borders of his state-robe, it was capitally trained for the field
of battle. Juan Velasquez de Leon's mare was of the same colour, a noble
and powerful animal, full of fire and eager for battle: we commonly
termed it the "short tail."

Christobal de Oli had a dark brown fine-spirited horse. Francisco de
Montejo and Alonso de Avila had between them a sorel-coloured horse, but
of little use in battle. Francisco de Morla had likewise a dark chesnut
stallion, one full of fire and wonderfully swift. The light-coloured
horse of Juan de Escalante was not worth much. The grey-coloured mare of
Diego de Ordas, which would never foal, was neither very swift. Gonzalo
Dominiguez had a small dark-brown nag, a very swift and noble animal.
Also the brown-coloured horse of Pedro Gonzalez de Truxillo was a swift
animal. Moron, who was a native of Vaimo, had a small horse which was
pretty well trained. Vaena, of Trinidad, had a darkish-coloured horse,
though a bad leaper. The light-coloured chesnut galloway of De Lares
was, on the other hand, a splendid animal and a capital runner.

Ortiz, the musician, and a certain Bartolome Garcia, who had applied
himself to the art of mining, had between them a very good dark-coloured
horse, which they named the Arriero (mule-driver,) and was one of the
best animals of the whole corps. Juan Sedeño, of the Havannah, had a
fine chesnut mare, which foaled on board. This Sedeño was considered to
be the most wealthy man amongst us; for he had a ship of his own, a
horse, a few negroes to attend upon him, and his own lading of cassave
and cured bacon. Just about this time horses and negroes were only to be
purchased for very high prices, which accounts for the small number of
the former we had with us on this expedition.

However, I will stop here, and relate in the next chapter what happened
as we were just about to embark.

[9] Jardines, or the Caribbee islands, lying along the south coast of
Cuba, better known as the Windward and Leeward islands. (p. 51.)

CHAPTER XXIV.

 _Diego Velasquez sends one of his officials, named Gaspar Garnica,
 with full authority to take Cortes prisoner, whatever might be the
 consequence; and what further happened._

In order that my history may be perfectly intelligible to my readers, I
must sometimes recur to prior events. In this place I have to return to
Diego Velasquez, who, when he learnt that his brother-in-law, Francisco
Verdugo, sub-governor of Trinidad, had not only confirmed Cortes in his
appointment over the squadron, but even, conjointly with Diego de Ordas,
lent him every possible assistance, fell into such a rage that he roared
like a wild beast. He accused his private secretary Andreas de Duero,
and the royal treasurer Almador de Lares, of a conspiracy to cheat him,
adding, that Cortes had run off with the whole squadron. Nor did
Velasquez stop here, but despatched one of his officials with
imperative commands to Pedro Barba, sub-governor of the Havannah, at the
same time writing to all his relatives in that town, to De Ordas and to
Juan Velasquez de Leon, who were his special confidants, requiring them
to swear, by the friendship they bore him, not, under any pretence
whatsoever, to allow the squadron to depart, but to send Cortes prisoner
to Santiago. As soon as Garnica, the bearer of these despatches,
arrived, it was immediately guessed for what purpose he came. Cortes was
even apprized of it by means of the very bearer himself: for one of the
brethren of Charity, who was much in company with Velasquez, and greatly
in favour with him, had forwarded by this same Garnica a letter to a
brother of the same order, named Bartolome de Olmedo, who had joined our
expedition. By means of this letter, Cortes was apprized of the whole
posture of affairs by those interested with him, Andreas de Duero and
the royal treasurer. Ordas, as we have above seen, having been sent off
in quest of provisions, Cortes had now only to fear opposition from Juan
Velasquez de Leon; but even him he had half gained over to his side, not
being on the best of terms with his relative the governor, who had only
presented him with a very poor commendary. Thus it was that the design
of Velasquez was frustrated by those very persons to whom he had
written. Indeed, from that very moment, these personages only united
themselves the closer to Cortes, particularly the sub-governor Pedro
Barba, the Alvarados, Puertocarrero, Montejo, Christobal de Oli, Juan
de Escalante, Andreas de Monjaraz, and his brother Gregorio, who, with
all of us, were ready to stake our lives for Cortes. Had the orders of
Velasquez been kept secret in Trinidad, they were now the more so in
this place; and Pedro de Barba despatched Garnica to Diego Velasquez
with the information that he durst not venture to take Cortes into
custody, as he was too powerful and too much beloved by the soldiers;
fearing, if he should make the attempt, that the town would be
plundered, and the whole of the inhabitants forcibly dragged away. For
the rest, he could assure Diego Velasquez that Cortes was qu

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