Palos toward the end of 1528.[1] With characteristic devotion he knelt, immediately on landing, to express thanks for being permitted to regain his native shore after so many vicissitudes. While awaiting the landing of his party and effects, which involved considerable delay under the cautious restrictions then ruling, he proceeded to the convent of La Rábida near by, there to perform his devotions and despatch advices. It was in this sacred spot that Columbus had sought shelter when on his way to advocate those grand projects which were to reveal a new world; to point out the field whereon the conqueror might achieve fame while giving new domains and fresh souls to the king and church. Here also Pizarro, the conqueror of the other great empire in America, is said to have met the victor of Montezuma; the latter with his great achievements ended, the former at the opening of a brilliant career.[2] Another strange coincidence: with Cortés was Juan de Rada, a valiant soldier during the conquest, who afterward joined Almagro, and avenged his death by cutting down Pizarro in the midst of his successes.
During the voyage Sandoval had been ill, and on landing he was taken to the house of a rope-maker to receive the necessary care. The hardships he had undergone in the Indies, particularly during the Honduras campaign, had undermined his health, for he sank rapidly. During a fit of depression he sent for Cortés. While the servant was absent, the host, a
- ↑ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 283; Sandoval, Carlos V., i. 895. Bernal Diaz writes December 1527, meaning 1528 no doubt, while Herrera, followed by Prescott and others, gives the end of May 1528. There are several reasons supporting the better authority of Gomara and Sandoval. 'En quarenta y vn dias llegó a Castilla, sin parar en la Habana.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 224. Both of which statements appear to be unfounded.
- ↑ The meeting probably took place in another part of Spain, though historians and poets have preferred to associate it with a spot hallowed by the presence of Columbus. The intercourse between the two men was natural enough, for they had known one another in the Antilles, and were allured by the similarity of their enterprise and renown. 'Fue cosa notable ver juntos a estos dos hombres, que eran mirados, como Capitanes de los mas notables del mundo, en aquel tiempo.' Herrera, dec. iv. lib. iv. cap. i; Pizarro y Orellana, Varones Ilvst., 121.
