312 men, appointing a captain to each vessel; and he distributed 20 cannoneers through the fleet, which he armed with such guns as we had that were fit for this service.  Many of our men had been formerly sailors, yet all were extremely averse from acting as rowers on the present occasion; for which reason the general made inquiry as to those who were natives of sea-ports, or who had formerly been fishers or seafaring men, all of whom he ordered to the oars; and though some of them pled their gentility as an exemption, he would hear of no excuse.  By these means he obtained 150 men for this service, who were in fact in a much better situation than we who bore the brunt and danger of the war on land, as will appear in the sequel.  When all this was arranged, and the crews embarked along with their commanders, each brigantine hoisted a royal standard, and every one a distinguishing flag.  Cortes likewise gave the captains written instructions for their guidance, dividing them into squadrons, each of which was to co-operate with a particular leader of the land forces.

Cortes now issued the following general orders to the army:  1.  No person to blaspheme the Lord Jesus, his Virgin Mother, the Holy Apostles, or any of the Saints, under heavy penalties. 2.  No soldier to maltreat any of our allies in their persons or properties. 3.  No soldier to be absent from quarters on any pretence. 4.  Every soldier to keep his arms, both offensive and defensive, in the best order. 5.  No soldier to stake his horse or arms in gaming. 6.  No soldier to sleep out of his armour, or without his arms beside him, except when disabled by wounds or sickness.  Lastly, the penalty of death was denounced for sleeping on guard, for a sentinel quitting his post, for absence from quarters without leave, for quitting the ranks in the field, or for flight in battle.

At this time our allies of Tlascala arrived under the command of Xicotencatl the younger, who was accompanied by his two brothers.  Some of the warriors of Huexotzinco and Cholula came along with the Tlascalans, but not in any great numbers[12], yet the alacrity of our allies was such that they joined us a day previous to that which was appointed by Cortes.  They marched in with great military parade, each of the chiefs carrying a standard with their national device, a white spread eagle, and they were all in high spirits, shouting out, Castilla!  Castilla!  Tlascala!  Tlascala!  From the arrival of their van, till the rear came in, took up three hours.  Cortes received them with great courtesy, promising to make them all rich on their return to their native country, and dismissed them with many compliments to their respective quarters.