Page:Vol 2 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/485

Rh a dark sallow complexion. Brave and industrious, prompt and cautious, he was strict, perhaps stern, in the administration of justice. Possessed of a genial and generous disposition, the absence of arrogance won for him much good-will; and though the kindness of his heart ever prompted him to friendly acts, he was guided by discrimination in his benevolence. The satisfactory manner in which he performed his duties in the matter of residencias in Nueva Galicia, and the successful commencement which he made for the establishment of a healthy government, speak loudly in his praise.

When the news of Torre's death reached Mendoza he appointed Luis Galindo chief justice of Nueva Galicia, and shortly afterward Francisco Vazquez de Coronado provisional governor, this latter appointment being confirmed by royal cédula of April 18, 1539.

Vazquez de Coronado was a native of Salamanca, and had married a daughter of Alonso de Estrada, the royal treasurer of New Spain. Mendoza held him in high esteem, but his eyes were perhaps a little blinded by friendship. The viceroy regarded him as a prudent and able man, and gifted with talents above