Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/183

 Majesty, I related how I had sent Pedro de Alvarado to the province of Tututepeque on the South Sea, and I could say no more than that he arrived there and had taken the chief and his son prisoners; and that they had given him some gold and samples from the gold mines, and of pearls, because, up to that time, I had nothing further to report. Your Highness will recollect that, in reply to the news which he sent me, I immediately ordered him to seek an available site in that province for a settlement, and that I also directed householders of the town of Segura de la Frontera to move there, as there was no further need for that town so near to this city. Thus it was done, and the town was called Segura la Frontera as before: the natives of Quaxaca, Coaclan, Coasclahuaca, Tachquiaco, and others in that neighbourhood, were distributed amongst the householders for their service and willingly made themselves useful; and Pedro de Alvarado stopped there as chief justice and captain in my place. While I was engaged in conquering the province of Panuco, as I shall hereafter state to Your Majesty, the alcaldes and municipal officers of the said town besought Pedro de Alvarado to go, with power of attorney, to negotiate certain matters with me, which they desired of him, to which he agreed; and, when he was gone, the alcaldes and municipal officers formed a conspiracy, convoking the community and appointing other alcaldes against the will of him whom the said Pedro de Alvarado had left there as captain, and they removed the said town to the province of Guaxaca, thus causing much disturbance and confusion in those parts. When I learned of this from the rightful captain, I sent Diego de Ocampo, alcalde mayor, to obtain information of