Nothing now happened for several days worthy of mention, excepting that by degrees every township of the surrounding neighbourhood sent ambassadors to Alvarado, and declared themselves vassals of our emperor; even the Pipiles, a tribe inhabiting the sea-coast along the southern ocean. As most of the ambassadors complained that the inhabitants of a township, named Izcuintepec, who were a very ill-disposed people, would not allow them to pass through their territory; besides that they committed all manner of depredations on their neighbours; Alvarado determined that they also should sue for peace and submit to his power. But as they showed no inclination to do either, and sent an insolent answer to his message, he marched out one morning with the greatest part of his troops, accompanied by a strong body of auxiliaries, and fell suddenly upon this township before the inhabitants in the least suspected his approach. But it would have been better if Alvarado had never visited this ill-fated town, for he treated the inhabitants in a manner that was neither conformable with justice nor with the wishes of our emperor.
What I have related of this campaign in the province of Guatimala is more minutely described in a memorial written by Gonzalo de Alvarado, a brother of Pedro, and an inhabitant of Guatimala; by perusing which the reader may gain further particulars, and will be enabled to correct any errors I may have committed. I consider myself bound to make this observation, as I was not present in this campaign, for I did not arrive in Guatimala until the year 1524, when the inhabitants had again revolted, just as we were about returning to Mexico from our expedition to the Higueras and Honduras, under the captain Luis Marin. On that occasion we had several engagements with the enemy, who had