Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/219

 He left this city with his people on the 5th of February of this present year, and I believe that — God willing — since they take a good equipment and go at a good season with many skilful Indian warriors of this city and its neighbourhood, they will put an end to the strife there, which will redound greatly to the Imperial Crown of Your Majesty; for not only do these people render no service but they molest those who are well disposed. The country is very rich in gold mines, and, once these people are pacified, our settlers say that they will get possession of them and reduce to slavery those people, who had once offered themselves to Your Majesty, and had afterwards rebelled and had killed the Spaniards, and done every mischief. I ordered that those who were captured should be branded with Your Highness 's mark, and, after separating the part belonging to Your Majesty, that the rest should be distributed amongst the members of the expedition.

Most Excellent Lord, I may assure Your Royal Excellency that the least of these expeditions cost me more than five thousand pesos of gold, and those of Pedro de Alvarado and Cristobal de Olid cost more than fifty thousand pesos in monies, besides other outlays from my property which are not accounted or set down in the memoranda; but if it will only conduce to the service of Your Cæsarian Majesty, although it should cost my own life I would deem it sufficient recompense to ever devote myself to the service of Your Highness.

In the last account, and also in this, I have mentioned to Your Majesty that I had begun to build four ships on the South Sea, and, as some time has passed since  Ship- building they were begun, it may seem to Your Royal Highness that I have been slow in finishing them; but I now give Your Sacred Majesty the cause, which is that the port on the South Sea where these ships are building, is two hundred leagues, and even more, from the ports on the