so far succeeded. You then made me your captain general and chief justice of New Spain, to continue vested in such powers till our king should order otherwise. Once there was talk among some of you of return to Cuba; but this I need not mention, it is past history, and our determination to stay here has proved a service to God and our king.
"Above all I must remind you of what we promised when we forwarded gold, silver, jewels and other valuable things we had acquired, and sent his majesty report and story of our doings, how we begged the king, since this land was of vast extent and rich in mines and cities, not to give it away to be governed by an agent or any partisan of the bishop of Burgos, but that it was good and proper to bestow It on some great prince. Now, you well remember, gentlemen, how often we have been at the point of death in battles we have fought. You all know how we are wonted to hunger and hardships, sleeping on bare ground In rain and snow and never laying aside our arms. Fifty comrades who have died in our wars I can not refer to; indeed I make no mention how all of us are maimed with wounds, some not even yet healed. I remind you of the troubles when we were still at sea, of the battle of Tabasco, how nigh we were to total destruction in battle at Tlaxcala, how we had hardly taken breath when we found at Cholula that they had made ready the pots In which
