icers. We other soldiers, if we wished to get
our bellies full were compelled to catch shell and other fish ourselves.
In the meantime numbers of Indians arrived from the above-mentioned
provinces, over which the two officials sent by Motecusuma were
governors, bringing with them some gold trinkets of small value, and
fowls, which they gave us in exchange for our goods, consisting in glass
pearls and such like; with which we were all provided, having
experienced the value of these during the expedition under Grijalva.

Six or seven days may have thus been spent, when Teuthlille returned in
the morning with more than a hundred Indian porters, all heavily laden,
accompanied by a great Mexican cazique, who both in countenance,
stature, and deportment, greatly resembled Cortes, and on that account
only had been selected by his monarch to accompany the deputation; for,
as was related, when Teuthlille brought forth the picture representing
Cortes, all the grandees who were present with their monarch Motecusuma,
immediately observed that he resembled a person of distinction named
Quintalbor. This was the same person who now accompanied Teuthlille, we
therefore called one the Cortes of this place, and the other the Cortes
of that place. We must now, however, learn what the ambassadors did when
they came into the presence of Cortes. First of all they touched the
ground at his feet with the hand, they then perfumed him and all the
Spaniards who were present, with pans made of clay. Cortes gave them a
most cordial reception, and desired them to sit down at his side. The
cazique Quintalbor was commissioned to discuss matters jointly with
Teuthlille. Both, therefore, told Cortes he was most welcome in their
country; and after a good deal of talking on both sides, they produced
the presents and spread them out on a mat, over which they had first
thrown some cotton cloths. The first was a round plate, about the size
of a waggon wheel, representing the sun, the whole of the finest gold,
and of the most beautiful workmanship; a most extraordinary work of art,
which, according to the account of those who weighed it, was worth
above 20,000 gold pesos. The second was a round plate, even larger than
the former, of massive silver, representing the moon, with rays and
other figures on it, being of great value. The third was the casque,
completely filled with pure grains of gold, as they are found in the
mines, worth about 3000 pesos, which was