whole of these men had horses, and were followed by numbers of female Indians of Nicaragua, some of whom were uncommonly handsome; besides a great many female slaves to attend upon them. We others, who had suffered so many hardships in this expedition, had none of these comforts, and, in comparison with our miserable appearance, these Spaniards looked like so many wealthy noblemen. When we arrived in Naco, Cortes quartered each of them according to his respective rank and station, as there were several men of distinction and quality among them.
When these men found that we formed part of Cortes' troops, their captain, Garro, did all in his power to ingratiate himself in Sandoval's and our favour, and the whole of them declared they were delighted to be with us. Respecting their arrival in this neighbourhood, they gave the following explanation.
Pedro Arias de Avila was governor of Terra Firma, and had sent out Francisco Hernandez, one of his most distinguished officers, with a considerable body of foot and horse, in order to make conquests in the provinces of Nicaragua and Leon, which he subdued and colonized. Hernandez, finding that everything went on so successfully, and thinking himself sufficiently far removed from Pedro Arias de Avila, to do what he liked, listened to evil counsellors, and came to some secret understanding with the bachelor Moreno, above mentioned, who had been despatched, by the royal court of audience at St. Domingo, to Terra Firma, to make inquiries into the death of Balboa, whom Arias de Avila had most unjustly beheaded, after giving him his daughter in marriage. This Moreno hinted to Hernandez, that it would not amount to treachery if he strove to gain for himself the government of the countries he should subdue, which would be the more easily obtained, since Pedro Arias had acted so wickedly against Balboa, who had had the best claim to be appointed adelantado of these countries, and indeed the first of the two who memorialised his majesty to that effect. Francisco Hernandez lent a