This intelligence filled all our hearts with joy, and we immediately despatched a letter by some of the inhabitants of Olancho to Saavedra for further information, and in the space of four days we received an answer from him, confirming the account of the two Spaniards. We offered up thanks to God for this good news, and instantly set out on our march for the place where Luis Marin was encamped. We found him in the township of Acalteca, and he was not a little rejoiced at the good news we brought him.
We now, without any further delay, broke up our camp, and commenced our march towards Mexico. We took our route over the township of Mariani, where we came up with six men of the troops under Alvarado, who was on his road in search of us. One of these men was Diego de Villanueva, an excellent soldier, and one of the veteran Conquistadores, who had assisted in the founding of the town of Guatimala: he was a native of Villanueva de la Serena, in the territory of the grand master of the military order of Alcantara. As we were old friends, we gave each other a hearty embrace, and he then told us that Alvarado was marching hither, in company of several cavaliers, in search of Cortes, to hasten his return to Mexico. He likewise gave us full particulars of everything that had taken place in this town during our absence, and how the government of New Spain had been offered to Alvarado, who had not dared to accept of it, from fear of the factor.
After two days' further march, we came up with Alvarado himself, who was encamped, with his men, in a township, called Choluteca Malalaca. It would, indeed, be a difficult task for me to describe the delight he experienced when we told him of Cortes' departure for Mexico, which was the more excessive, as he was now spared the further fatigues of a long march, on which his troops had already suffered many hardships. In this township we likewise met several of Pedro Arias' officers, one of whom was named Garavito, and another Campannon, who said they were despatched by Arias to discover new countries, and to settle about some boundaries with Alvarado. The whole of our troops, and the two officers of Arias, remained three days in Choluteca, from which place Alvarado despatched a certain Gaspar Arias de Avila, who had settled in Guatimala, to the governor Arias, as we understood, respecting the preliminaries of a marriage, which is indeed most likely, as Gaspar Arias was a great adherer to Alvarado.
On the fourth day we left Choluteca, and continued our march to the province of Guatimala, but before we could reach the territory of Cuzcatlan, through which our route immediately lay, the rainy season set in, and we found the river Lempa so greatly swollen, that it seemed an impossibility for us ever to cross it. The only resource we had left was to fell a ceiba tree of very large dimensions, of which we hollowed out a canoe of such magnitude, that nothing was ever seen equal to it in this country before. Even then it took us five whole days before we had all passed across, during which time we suffered dreadfully from hunger, as we had not a grain of maise left.
After we had passed the river, we came to the townships of Chapanastec, where the inhabitants killed one of our men, named Nicuesa, and wounded three others. These men had gone out in search of provisions, and were attacked before we could come up to their assistance. As we did not wish to be detained any longer, we would not give ourselves the trouble of chastising the inhabitants for their murderous attack. This took place in that province where at present the town of San Miguel is built. From this place we came into the territory of Cuzcatlan, the inhabitants of which we found very hostilely inclined towards us; nevertheless, we had plenty of provisions; and we now came into some townships in the neighbourhood of Petapa, where the Guatimaltecs were lying in wait for us, in deep hollows, between steep rocks. It took us three days before we could succeed in forcing this passage. Here I was slightly wounded by an arrow.
In this way we at length reached Petapa, and the day following we arrived in a valley, to which we gave the name of Fuerto, and in which at present the town of Guatimala stands. At that time the whole of Guatimala was up in arms against us, so that we had to fight our way through the country. I shall never forget the dreadful earthquake we felt here. We were marching steadily along the slope of a rising ground, when the earth began to tremble so strongly, that several of our soldiers were no longer able to stand on their legs, and fell down; and this fearful shaking continued for a considerable length of time. From this place we had a good road to Old Guatimala, where the two caziques Sacachul and Cinacan generally resided. However, the whole armed force of Guatimala lay in wait for us, in a deep hollow, near the town, to prevent our entry; but we soon dispersed them with considerable loss, and we took up our quarters for the night in the town, which contained many large and beautiful buildings, owing to the circumstance of all the caziques, who governed the neighbouring provinces, residing there. The next morning we again quitted the town, and encamped on the plain, where we constructed ourselves huts. Here we lay for the space of ten days, as Alvarado had twice summoned the inhabitants of Guatimala, and other townships of the surrounding neighbourhood, to submit, and was desirous of knowing what answer they would return; but as they neither sent any message nor ambassadors to him, we again broke up our camp, and continued to move forward by forced marches. We did not, however, pass any way near to the district where Alvarado had left his brother Gonzalo in command of the great body of his troops, for the whole country had risen up in arms. The township we next came to was Olintepec, where we halted for several days, to rest from our fatigues. From this place we marched to Soconusco and Teguantepec, where two of our countrymen, and the Mexican cazique Juan Velasquez, who had been commander-in-chief under Quauhtemoctzin, died on the road. Here it was that we received the first intelligence of the death of the licentiate Leon, which was the more to be regretted, since so much good was expected from him, and the excellent choice which his majesty had made in his person.
We now marched forward with the utmost expedition, so impatient were we to see Mexico again. As, altogether, we were eighty in number, and that under the command of Alvarado, we immediately sent Cortes notice, when we had arrived in Chalco, that on the following day we intended making our entry into Mexico, and we begged that quarters might be got in readiness for us, as, during an absence of above two years and three months, we should almost be strangers there. As soon as it was known in Mexico that we had arrived in Iztapalapan, Cortes, accompanied by several cavaliers, came out to meet us along the causeway. The first building we visited in the town was the principal church, whither we instantly repaired, to offer up our thanks to the Almighty for our safe return. From the church we were conducted by Cortes to his palace, where a sumptuous repast had been prepared for us. Alvarado took up his quarters in his official dwelling, belonging to the fortifications, of which he was alcalde at that time. Sandoval gave Luis Marin a lodging in his house, and I, and one of my friends, the captain Luis Sanchez, were invited by Andreas de Tapia to take up our abode with him, and we were treated with every mark of respect. I now very soon received from Sandoval, Cortes, and other of my old friends of this town, different articles of wearing apparel, some gold, and a quantity of cacao, all of which were sent as presents to me. The next day after our arrival, I and my friend Luis Sanchez, having first attended mass, walked out together in the town, first of all to pay our respects to the governor Marcos de Aguilar. We requested Sandoval and Tapia to accompany us on this occasion, to interest themselves for us with the governor; to which they readily consented, and they explained to him who we were, what important services we had rendered to the crown, and then begged of him to bestow on us Indian commendaries in the neighbourhood of Mexico, as those we possessed in the province of Guacasualco were of very little value.
Marcos de Aguilar, in reply, promised very kindly to do all he could for us, but at the same time assured us that it was totally out of his power either to grant or take away any commendary, as Ponce de Leon, in his last will, had particularly ordered that all the lawsuits and the unoccupied commendaries should remain as they were until his majesty had otherwise disposed; and concluded by saying, that as soon as he should receive full powers to distribute the Indians, he would present us with the most lucrative commendaries in the whole country.
About this time, also, Diego de Ordas arrived from Cuba in Mexico, and as it was said he had written the letters which the factor sent to Spain, respecting the certainty of our all having perished with Cortes in the late expedition, the latter, Sandoval, and several other cavaliers, reproached him most bitterly for having written things of which he had no certainty, and that by his letters he had brought New Spain to the brink of destruction; but Ordas swore most solemnly that he had never written any letter to that effect. He certainly had been, he said, in a township called Xicalango, and had learnt that two Spanish vessels had lain there for some time; that a dispute had arisen among the men on board, who came to blows, and many on both sides were killed; and that the few who remained were massacred by the Indians. It was respecting this unfortunate affair that he had written to New Spain, and this might, indeed, have caused the rumours to be set afloat of our total destruction. Moreover, the letter he had written might still be found among the factor's papers, by which they would best be able to convince themselves of the truth of what he had said, and what bad use the factor must have made of it, to serve his own ends.
As the factor and veedor were still kept in close confinement, and Cortes, according to the arrangements made by Leon in his will, could not at present continue the criminal suits against those two persons, besides that he had many other unpleasant matters to attend to just then, he determined to leave the case as it was until his majesty's further pleasure should be known with regard to the government of New Spain. The whole of his time was occupied for the present in reclaiming a great part of his possessions which had been sold to raise a fund that prayers might be offered up in the churches for his departed soul; but this was done with an evil design, that people might think he was really dead. All this property, besides that which had been set apart for the masses for the repose of his soul, was purchased by an inhabitant of Mexico named Juan Caceres the wealthy.