and his mother, Sara de Contreras, struggled with poverty to maintain the reputation of a good family name. At the age of twenty-five Pedro came over to Santo Domingo, and prompted by vanity paraded himself in an old gown of his fathers, whereon was sewn the red cross of Santiago. At first he wore this garment inside out, giving as a reason his reduced circumstances which made him ashamed to publicly own the rank of knight. On being reproved by the admiral, he boldly affixed the insignia to his other dresses, and thenceforth called and signed himself the Comendador Alvarado.1 The title was never openly questioned in the Indies, where men had little time for inquiring into the affairs of others, and Alvarado failed not with his plausible tongue and crafty nature to use it for obtaining certain privileges and advancement.
When Grijalva prepared his expedition he was living as an encomendero, near Trinidad, in Cuba, with five brothers.2 As captain under this chief he gave evidence of an enterprising nature, combined with an impatiency of restraint which ill fitted a subordinate. The want of principle already shown by his conduct at Santo Domingo was here made apparent in the attempt to injure his commander with Velazquez, in order to further his own ends. His now prominent position as a well-to-do gentleman, and the experience gathered under Grijalva, had made him a welcome member of the present expedition. He had also acquired the reputation of a good soldier and horseman, with a bravery bordering on recklessness, and was a great favorite with his men, among whom he also ranked as an able drill master. With an agile frame, he presented a most cheerful and pleasing countenance, fair, some called it, with a tendency to ruddiness. Its attraction centred chiefly in the eyes, and afterward obtained for him among the Indians of Tlascala the appellation of Tonatiuh, the Sun.3 His first glance thrown upon a combatant was the flash which was to be followed by the thunderbolt. Vanity prompted a careful attention to dress, but with a result approaching the showy rather than the elegant. His manner, no less winning than the face, made him a most