we had taken, as Narvaez had declared a war of
extermination against us; had literally come with the intention to
destroy us, and rob us of all our property; besides that, we, the
well-deserving servants of the emperor, had been branded by him with the
name of traitors. Cortes, however, was determined upon this point, and
as we had elected him our captain-general, we could not do less than
obey him. I myself had taken possession of two swords, three daggers,
and a target, all of which I had to return.

Alonso de Avila, who was a captain, and one who durst speak out boldly
to Cortes, privately reproached him, in conjunction with father Olmedo,
for acting thus; and remarked to him, that he was performing the part of
Alexander the Macedonian, who, whenever he gained a splendid victory,
rewarded and honoured the vanquished instead of the officers and
soldiers who had procured him the victory. They had every reason to make
this observation, as we had to look quietly on and see Cortes give all
the provisions and valuable matters, which the Indians of the
surrounding country brought in as presents, to the officers of the
vanquished general, and leave us unnoticed. This they maintained was not
acting justly, and had every appearance of ingratitude towards them, who
by their valour had raised him to the proud position in which he then
stood.

Cortes, who was never wanting for an answer, replied, that for all he
possessed he was indebted to us; but under existing circumstances he
could not act otherwise. It was for the advantage of all to gain the
troops of Narvaez by fair words, presents, and promises; their numbers
were too great in comparison to ours; and if they were once to rise up
in anger, they might easily put us all to the sword.

To this Avila replied in a very haughty manner, which obliged Cortes to
exclaim, "Those who do not feel inclined to obey are at liberty to leave
my standard; Spanish women bring forth sufficient children into the
world, and every son is a soldier in Spain!"

"That is very true," answered Avila, rather disrespectfully; "and among
these sons there are also numbers of generals and governors as well as
soldiers."

As matters then stood, Cortes was compelled to put on the best
countenance he could to this reproof, and to silence this open-hearted
man by promises and presents; for the determined and bold character of
Avila was too well known to him, and he feared his resentment. He
therefore su