Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/198

 the truth, and, when I am able to do so, I shall make a full account to Your Majesty.

On returning from the province of Panuco, and while in a town called Tuzapan, the two Spaniards arrived, whom I had sent with some natives of Temixtitan and others of Soconusco (which latter is on the coast of the South Sea, near where Pedrarias Davila is Your Highnesses's Governor, two hundred leagues from this great city of Temixtitan) to obtain information of some towns, about which I have heard for a long time, and which are called Uclaclan and Guatemala, and which are more than seventy leagues distant from this province of Soconusco. There came with these Spaniards more than one hundred of the inhabitants of those two towns, sent by their chiefs to declare themselves subjects and vassals of Your Imperial Majesty. I received them in Your Royal name and assured them that, if they remained faithful to their pledge, they would be well treated and favoured by me and my people in Your Majesty's name; and I gave them some presents of things which they esteem, not only for themselves, but also for their chief, and sent two other Spaniards back with them to provide everything necessary along the road. Since then, I have learned from certain Spaniards in the province of Soconusco, that those cities with their provinces, and another, called Chiapan, near there, have not kept faith, but are molesting the towns of Soconusco because they are our friends. On the other hand, the Christians have written to me that they constantly send messengers to excuse themselves, saying that these things had been done by others, and that they had no part in it. So, to learn the truth of this, I despatched Pedro de Alvarado, with eighty odd horsemen