comendador of Santiago, whom he had by the interpretress Doña Marina. The other son, Don Luis, was also a comendador of Santiago, whom he had by a certain Hermosilla. Of these daughters one was named Pizarro, after her mother, an Indian woman of Cuba; the other was born of a Mexican woman.59 Cortes had, during his lifetime, richly provided for these daughters, and had bestowed lucrative townships upon them; among others, that of Chinanta. There is no doubt he also remembered them in his will, for he was a man of deep penetration and had sufficient time in his latter days to order all his affairs in a proper manner, he would naturally not omit to fulfil anything that might tend to lighten his conscience. In this way, like a good Christian, he also left a fund for erecting an hospital in Mexico, and a cloister in Cojohuacan, where he desired his remains might be interred; besides this, he left large sums for other pious purposes. However, in order not to go too much into detail I will say nothing further on this head, indeed I have forgotten many circumstances relative to his bequests.
Cortes' armorial bearings and their motto bespoke his great valour, and were suitable emblems of his heroic deeds. The motto was in Latin, but as I am no Latin scholar I will not attempt to explain its meaning. His escutcheon bore the seven heads, chained, of monarchs whom he had conquered. These I believe, and have heard others say, represent the monarchs Motecusuma of Mexico, Cacamatzin of Tezcuco, Cuitlahuatzin of Iztapalapan; the kings of Tlacupa and Cojohuacan, and a powerful cazique of the province of Tulapa, near Matlaltzinco, who was nephew to Motecusuma, and the nearest heir to the throne of Mexico. The last was Quauhtemoctzin, who fought the terrible battles with us during the siege of Mexico.
I must now say a few words with respect to Cortes' outward person. He was of good stature, his limbs well proportioned and strongly knit together, but his complexion was rather of an ash-coloured grey, nor was there much cheerfulness in his look; and if his countenance had been