Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/186

 them, and, although at the outset they killed some of our friendlies who had straggled behind, and some ten or twelve horses foundered on account of the roughness of the mountain roads, all the province was conquered, and the lord and his brother, a youth, and another, his captain-general, who guarded one of the frontiers, were captured. The lord and his captain-general were immediately hanged, and all who were captured in the war, perhaps two hundred persons, were made slaves and were branded and sold by auction. Your Majesty's fifth having been paid, the rest of the proceeds were distributed amongst those who took part in the war, although there was not sufficient to pay for one-third of the horses which perished, as, on account of the poverty of the country, no other spoil had been obtained. The rest of the people in the said province surrendered peaceably and have kept their word. That young brother of the dead chief is now lord, although for the present he is of no service or profit as the country is so poor, still he keeps it in such security that those who do serve us will not be disturbed, and moreover, I have placed amongst them some of the natives of this country for greater security.

At this season, Most Invincible Cæsar, there arrived at the port and town of Espiritu Santo, which I mentioned  Mission of Juan Bono in the chapter before the last, a very small and miserable brigantine coming from Cuba, on board which was one Juan Bono de Quejo who had come to this country in the armada of Panfilo de Narvaez as master of one of the ships; and, as it appeared from the despatches he brought, he came by order of Don Juan de Fonseca, Bishop of Burgos, in the belief that Cristobal de Tapia