While Sandoval was staying at Naco, occupied in the friendly subjection of the surrounding country, four caziques arrived in our camp from the two townships of Quecuscapa and Tanchinalchapa, complaining bitterly of some Spaniards, who, they said, had horses, and were otherwise armed like ourselves. These men plundered the inhabitants of all their property, and forcibly carried off their wives and daughters in iron chains.
Sandoval, it may be imagined, was exceedingly vexed at this intelligence. On inquiring of the caziques how far distant their townships lay, they told him only one day's journey. He then immediately marched out with sixty of us, all well-armed, and we arrived in the above-mentioned townships before the Spaniards there had the least notice of our approach; yet the instant they saw us they flew to their arms, but we came so suddenly upon them, that we took the greater part of the men with their captain prisoners, without so much as a drop of blood being spilt on either side. Sandoval, to use a common phrase, blew them up in fine style, and asked them whether theirs was justifiable conduct thus to ill-use his majesty's subjects, and whether the course they pursued was the proper method of making conquests in his majesty's name? He then commanded the men and women they had taken prisoners, and around whose necks they had fastened iron collars, to be instantly released and restored to the caziques of the district.
We then marched back to Naco, carrying along with us our Spanish prisoners and their captain, whose name was Pedro de Garro. Almost the whole of these men had horses, and were followed by numbers of female Indians of Nicaragua, some of whom were uncommonly handsome; besides a great many female slaves to attend upon them. We others, who had suffered so many hardships in this expedition, had none of these comforts, and, in comparison with our miserable appearance, these Spaniards looked like so many wealthy noblemen. When we arrived in Naco, Cortes quartered each of them according to his respective rank and station, as there were several men of distinction and quality among them.
When these men found that we formed part of Cortes' troops, their captain, Garro, did all in his power to ingratiate himself in Sandoval's and our favour, and the whole of them declared they were delighted to be with us. Respecting their arrival in this neighbourhood, they gave the following explanation.
Pedro Arias de Avila was governor of Terra Firma, and had sent out Francisco Hernandez, one of his most distinguished officers, with a considerable body of foot and horse, in order to make conquests in the provinces of Nicaragua and Leon, which he subdued and colonized. Hernandez, finding that everything went on so successfully, and thinking himself sufficiently far removed from Pedro Arias de Avila, to do what he liked, listened to evil counsellors, and came to some secret understanding with the bachelor Moreno, above mentioned, who had been despatched, by the royal court of audience at St. Domingo, to Terra Firma, to make inquiries into the death of Balboa, whom Arias de Avila had most unjustly beheaded, after giving him his daughter in marriage. This Moreno hinted to Hernandez, that it would not amount to treachery if he strove to gain for himself the government of the countries he should subdue, which would be the more easily obtained, since Pedro Arias had acted so wickedly against Balboa, who had had the best claim to be appointed adelantado of these countries, and indeed the first of the two who memorialised his majesty to that effect. Francisco Hernandez lent a willing ear to this advice, and began by despatching his chief officer Pedro de Garro to the northern provinces, in search of some harbour where he might found a colony, and send his majesty thence an account of the countries he had subdued and colonized; and he doubted not but that his endeavours would be crowned with success, since the provinces of which he should petition to be the governor lay so far distant from Terra Firma.
Respecting these matters, Sandoval and Garro had several secret conferences with each other, which terminated in the former writing on the subject to Cortes, at Truxillo, to induce him to confer on Hernandez the government of Nicaragua. For this purpose he despatched five of our men, and an equal number of Garro's troops, along the coast, to Truxillo, in order to convey his letters to Cortes. These men took with them twenty of Garro's Indians, in order to assist them in crossing the rivers. Their march, however, was attended with very little success, for they could neither pass the river Pichin nor the river Balama, both of which were greatly swollen, so that they returned to Naco, after a fortnight's absence. Sandoval was excessively annoyed at this circumstance, and spoke in very severe terms to the person who had the command of this small detachment. He then ordered captain Luis Marin, with ten of us, and five of Garro's men, immediately to set out for Truxillo, and to march thither in a direct line through the country. I was likewise desired to accompany Luis Marin, and we all set out on foot. We passed through a number of hostile townships, though, if I were to relate all the battles we fought with the natives; the difficulties we had to encounter on this journey; the rivers and estuaries we had to cross, sometimes by means of swimming, sometimes in canoes; the hunger we sustained for several days, I should not finish so easily. There were days in which we crossed, either in canoes or by swimming, three rapid streams. On approaching nearer to the coast, we had to pass arms of the sea which abounded with alligators, and when we arrived at the river Xaqua, which lay forty miles from Triunfo de la Cruz, it took us two whole days before we reached the opposite shore, in canoes. Here we saw the remains of seven horses which had belonged to Oli's troops. At length we arrived in Triunfo de la Cruz, where we found nothing but the wood of some vessels which had been wrecked. We then marched on for another four days, and came to the township of Guemara, where the inhabitants rose up in arms against us. These Indians were armed with long heavy lances, which they use in the same way we do ours, covering their bodies at the same time with a shield, which is fastened to the left arm. They came out against us in a large body, and we were obliged to fight foot to foot with them; though, after a short conflict, we cut our way through their crowded ranks, with only two of our men wounded. Their reason for attacking us was, because they thought we did not belong to Cortes' troops, but to a body of adventurers, who had on a former occasion committed depredations among them.
Two days' further march brought us into the neighbourhood of Truxillo. It was about the hour of vespers, and we speedily came in sight of five persons, who were strolling along the shore on horseback, one of whom was our general himself, who soon recognized us at a distance, gave spur to his horse, and galloped up to us. He instantly dismounted, embraced us, with the tears flowing from his eyes, and cried out: "O, my companions and brothers, how I have longed to see you, and to receive some intelligence of you!"
Cortes looked exceedingly ill, and we felt sorely grieved to see him thus. He had been suffering from a violent fever, which had nearly proved fatal to him, and he felt the more downcast, as he had not received any intelligence whatsoever as to how matters stood in Mexico. Some of our men even assured me he had been so nigh his death, that the Franciscan gown, in which he was to have been buried, had been got in readiness.
After the first welcomes were past, Cortes accompanied us on foot to Truxillo, where we were immediately shown to our quarters, and then invited to sup with our general; but it was a very poor set out, for there was not even cassave bread to be had. The letter we brought from Sandoval he read to us at table, and he declared his willingness to do all in his power for Francisco Hernandez.
Three days previously, as I mentioned above, the two small vessels from St. Domingo ran into the harbour of Truxillo, but had unfortunately brought nothing in the shape of provisions, excepting a pipe of wine. It would, however, have been much better for us if these vessels had never arrived, for the whole of us got greatly into debt, by purchasing various articles of wearing apparel, and Spanish gewgaws.