The power which Cortes thus conferred upon the veedor and factor was the source of many evils, and of the terrible insurrection which shortly after burst out in Mexico, and of which I will give a full account in a following chapter, when our army has fairly reached the town of Truxillo, after a long and tedious march. I will only take this opportunity of observing, that father Olmedo, and the Franciscan monks who accompanied us, did not hesitate a moment to tell Cortes how greatly they disapproved of this measure, and said, they hoped to God he would not have to repent of this step: and indeed their apprehensions were but too well confirmed by future events! Cortes, however, took little heed of what the good Franciscans had said; for only the words of father Olmedo, whom he consulted on most occasions, had ever any weight with him.
When the factor and the veedor took leave of Cortes before returning to Mexico, it was ludicrous to behold their reverential bows, and to hear the compliments they paid him. The factor, in particular, had a manner of sighing peculiar to himself, and he appeared ready to burst into tears when he took leave of Cortes, and the deed of appointment, which had been drawn out by his intimate friend, the secretary Alonso Valiente, was put into his hands. Both these gentlemen now set out for Mexico, whither they were accompanied by Hernan Lopez de Avila, as he was suffering from severe pains in his joints and large swellings in his groins, so that he could scarcely move along.
We will now wish them a pleasant journey, and begin to think of our tedious march, during which we suffered so many hardships, that it was a wonder any of us ever returned alive.
CHAPTER CLXXV.
How we commence our march from Guacasualco, and the terrible fatigues and hardship we had to undergo for the space of two years and three months.
The first thing Cortes did, after despatching the veedor and factor to Mexico, was to write to his major-domo Simon de Cuenca, at Vera Cruz, ordering him to load two small vessels with maise biscuits, six pipes of wine, oil, vinegar, smoked hog's flesh, and other provisions, besides a good quantity of horseshoes. Cuenca was himself to take charge of these vessels, and to sail in along the coast until he should receive further instructions as to the place he was to put into.
The next thing he did was to issue orders to all the Spanish settlers at Guacasualco, with the exception of those who were ill, to join him in this expedition. The reader will remember, from what I stated in a former chapter, that the first Spanish colonists of Guacasualco were all of the oldest Conquistadores of New Spain, and most of them were of noble families. The whole of us had now hoped to enjoy some repose, and that we should have been allowed to recover from all the great fatigues and hardships we had undergone; and we were just bringing our lands into a pretty good state of cultivation, when we received orders from Cortes to accompany him in an expedition of above 2000 miles from Guacasualco, the whole of our route lying through a hostile country; on an expedition which lasted for two years and three months, and in which we lost everything we took with us! Not one of us had sufficient courage to say no; and if he had, it would have availed him nothing, for he would have been compelled to go! We therefore equipped ourselves in the best possible manner, caparisoned our horses, and patiently awaited our general's commands to march out.
Cortes' whole force, including those of Guacasualco, consisted of above 250 foot, besides the musketeers and crossbow-men, 130 horse, and a number of men recently arrived from Spain. Before leaving Guacasualco, Cortes gave me the chief command of a detachment, consisting of 30 Spaniards and 3000 Mexicans, with instructions to march against the Cimatans, and force them into obedience, as they still obstinately refused to submit to our arms. The 3000 Mexicans were to be distributed among the townships of the country, but I was particularly instructed to abstain from all violent measures if the inhabitants were peaceably inclined, and submitted as vassals to our emperor; neither was I to demand anything further from them than the necessary provisions for the troops. If they still persisted in their hostilities, I was thrice to summon them to submit, in a manner intelligible to them, and in presence of a notary and several witnesses; but if they refused to submit after the third summons, I was to commence hostilities against them without any further delay.
I am still in possession of the document containing these instructions, which is signed by Cortes himself, and countersigned by his secretary Alonso Valiente.