Ulua, previous to his own arrival, amounted, according to my computation, to about twelve hundred men, most of whom were captured by the Indians of Panuco, and their flesh devoured at their festive orgies. Of the fifteen men who survived the expedition of Vasquez de Aillon to Florida, and joined our army, not a single man is now remaining!
I repeat, O illustrious Fame, that of Cortes' veteran troops there are only five of us alive, all of us far advanced in years, sickly, and very poor, with numbers of grown-up sons and daughters, and we are obliged to drag on a life of misery and toil, with scarcely enough to support our families! And now, O Fame, since I have told you everything you wished to know respecting our palaces, our escutcheons, and our tombs, lift up your excellent and honest voice, and resound our deeds of valour throughout the whole world, that malice and envy may no longer obscure their glory! This, Fame answered she would do with the greatest delight; but added, she was surprised that the best commendaries had not been presented to us, particularly as his majesty had issued commands to that effect. Illustrious Fame then went on to say, that the deeds of the courageous and spirited Cortes would always be considered inestimable, and might be compared to those of the most renowned generals; but that the historians Gomara, doctor Illescas, and others, make all our discoveries and conquests redound to the honour of Cortes alone, and never so much as mention any of our names with praise; but at present she was delighted to find that I had written a faithful account of the conquest, without exaggeration or fulsome flattery, and not, as Gomara, in the praise of one officer alone. Fame then promised, in the goodness of her heart, that she would announce all this to the world; adding, that wherever my book was published persons would everywhere recognize in it impartiality and the naked truth.
A certain doctor, who is one of the members of the royal court of audience, once asked me, how it came that Cortes, in his despatches and