Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/156

 rebuilding of the said city of Temixtitan was begun it is already very beautiful, and Your Majesty may believe that each day it will become nobler, so that as it was before the head and mistress of all these provinces, so it will be henceforward; it is being and will be so built that the Spaniards will be perfectly strong and safe, and supreme lords of the natives, secure from any fear of being assailed by them.

In the meantime, the chief of the province of Tecoantepeque, which is near the South Sea where the two Spaniards discovered it, sent me certain notables by whom he offered himself as vassal of Your Majesty, and made me a present of certain jewels, pieces of gold, and feather work, all of which was delivered to the treasurer of Your Majesty; I thanked the messengers for what they told me on behalf of their chief, and I gave them certain presents which they took and returned very happy.

At this season, those two Spaniards returned from the province of Mechuacan, whence the messengers had come from that chief, and told me that the South Sea could be reached by that way, except that it had to be done through the country of a chief who was his enemy. A brother of the chief of Mechuacan came with the two Spaniards, and other chiefs and servants with him, exceeding two thousand persons, whom I received, showing great love towards them; and they gave me on the part of the chief of the said province, who is called Calcucin, a present for Your Majesty of shields of gold, weighing [word missing] marks, and many other things which were delivered to Your Majesty's treasurer. To show them our customs, and let them report to their chief, I had all the horsemen ride to the square, where they manœuvred and skirmished, the foot soldiers marching in file, and the musketeers firing their muskets and firing with the artillery against the tower. The chiefs were all