The chief authorities of Mexico and the rest of the distinguished cavaliers of the town, seeing how little this tyrannical neighbour cared for their governor, and what little support they had to expect from the latter against the oppression and encroachments of the other, they begged Estrada to give Cortes an equal share in the government with himself, assuring him that the service of God and the true interests of his majesty imperatively demanded this. However, Estrada obstinately refused to listen to their proposal, though others again affirm that Cortes himself was the person who declined in any way to interfere in the government, to put it out of the power of his enemies to say that he was striving by some means or other to raise himself to the head of the government again, and thereby give them an opportunity of confirming their suspicions which they had begun to rumour abroad against him, namely, that Marcos de Aguilar had died by his hand. In short, after many conferences, it was agreed that Sandoval, who was alguacil-mayor, and highly respected by every one, should jointly govern with Estrada, who himself approved of it in every way, though some persons maintained he had merely conceded in the hopes of marrying his daughter to Sandoval, and of obtaining for the latter the appointment of governor of New Spain, which at that time was not considered of so much importance as at the present day.
After every arrangement respecting the government of the country had been settled between Sandoval and Estrada, the latter was advised by his friends to despatch a vessel forthwith to Spain to forward his majesty an account of everything that had taken place, and to draw up this account in such a manner as if he had only taken Sandoval as a colleague in order to avoid giving Cortes a share of the government.
Cortes' enemies also profited by this opportunity to despatch their letters to Spain, in which they calumniated our general in the foulest manner; they stated right out that he had poisoned Garay, Leon, and Aguilar, and that it was his intention to put the veedor and factor to death; the whole