port, they are to land the people, horses, and provisions, and fortify themselves, with their artillery — of which they take plenty — in the best position they can choose, and there establish a settlement; three of the largest ships are then to go to Cuba, to the port of Trinidad, because that is the best place and because one of my agents has everything in readiness there which the commander of the expedition may require. The other smaller ships and the brigantine, with the chief pilot — who is a cousin of mine called Diego Hurtado — in command, are to cruise along the coast of the Ascension Bay, searching for the strait which is believed to be there, and, after discovering everything about it, are to return to wherever Captain Cristobal de Olid may be, sending me one of the ships with an account of what they have discovered so that I may make a complete report of all that has been done to Your Catholic Majesty.
I also said that I had prepared certain people to go with
was brought to Cortes by the factor, Gonzalo de Salazar, and led to his sending his kinsman, Francisco de las Casas, to recall Olid to his obedience. Olid had sent a part of his forces against Gonzalo de Avila, who was also exploring in that country, and, upon Las Casas's arrival, he temporised, seeing that he could not successfully resist; and while thus gaining time, he sent hurriedly to recall his men. A violent storm drove the ships of Las Casas on the coast, and thus he and his men were easily captured, and, at the same time, Gonzalo de Avila was likewise taken, so Olid's star was in the ascendant. His triumph was short lived, however, for he had rendered himself very unpopular in the colony, of which fact his prisoners, who had complete liberty to go about, with the sole restriction that they were not to carry arms, took advantage to plan a successful rebellion against him. He was captured, and, after a summary trial, was beheaded in the public square of Naco. The Audiencia of San Domingo had sought to forestall these conflicts amongst Spaniards, by sending their agent, the bachelor Moreno, to order Las Casas back to Vera Cruz, to put an end to the contests between Olid and Avila, and to stop Pedro de Alvarado, who was marching overland against Olid by order of Cortes. Moreno's proceedings, and those of his companion Ruano, are recounted in the memorial read by the colonists to Cortes, which the latter transcribes in the Fifth Letter for the Emperor's information.
