Page:Vol 2 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/102

82 which in accordance with the common native tradition and the declaration of the doctors were pronounced to be the remains of giants; also two jaguars, or tigers as they were called, which proved an unfortunate shipment, for one escaped from the cage when on board, and fiercely attacked a number of the crew, whereupon it was lost in the sea. Two of the bitten men died from their injuries, and to obviate another disaster the second jaguar was killed.

As special agents for Cortés went his secretary, Juan de Ribera, with whom was associated Friar Pedro Melgarejo de Urrea, both to act in concert with his father, Martin Cortés, to whom was sent a power of attorney to act in all affairs for the son. This document was accompanied by a few thousand ducats, which the malevolent magnified to large amounts, a portion of the vast treasures that Cortés was said to have secreted. One story current was that he himself supervised its transmission to Tezcuco in several canoes. When fairly out in the lake a sudden gale capsized the boats, and half a dozen men were drowned; the rest, including Cortés, narrowly escaped by clinging to the wrecks. Divers were afterward sent to search for the treasure, but not a trace could be found. The same agents carried a portion of the remittances sent by the conquerors to friends in Spain, amounting in all to nearly a hundred thousand castellanos, and showing that recent expeditions must have greatly increased the distribution shares, and promoted contentment among the lately irate soldiers.