Passing Triumpho de la Cruz and a place called Quemara, we arrived one evening near Truxillo, where we saw five horsemen riding along the sea shore, who happened to be our general and four of his friends taking the air.  After the first surprize at this unexpected meeting, Cortes dismounted and embraced us all with tears in his eyes, quite overjoyed to see us.  It made me quite melancholy to see him, as he was so worn down by distress and disease, that he appeared much reduced and extremely weak, insomuch that he had even expected death, and had procured a Franciscan habit to be buried in.  He walked along with us into the town of Truxillo, and invited us all to sup with him; where we fared so wretchedly that I had not even my fill of bread or biscuit.  After reading over the letters we had brought him relative to Hernandez, he promised to do every thing in his power to support him.  The two vessels which I formerly mentioned as having brought horses from Hispaniola, only arrived three days before us, and we were fools enough to run ourselves in debt by purchasing their useless frippery.  Hitherto Cortes had not received any intelligence whatever from Mexico since he left it on this disastrous expedition; but, while we were giving him an account of the hardships of our late journey from Naco, a vessel was descried at a distance making for our port.  This vessel was from the Havanna, and brought letters from the licentiate Zuazo, who had been alcalde-major of Mexico, the contents of which overwhelmed Cortes with such sorrow and distress, that he retired to his private apartment, whence he did not stir out for a whole day, and we could distinctly hear that he suffered great agitation.  After hearing mass next morning, he called us together and communicated to us the intelligence which these letters conveyed, which was to the following effect.

In consequence of the power which Cortes had inconsiderately granted to Salazar and Chirinos, to supersede Estrada and Albornos in the administration of government in Mexico, in case of misconduct in these deputies, they had formed a strong party on their return to Mexico, among whom were Zuazo the alcalde-major, Rodrigo de Paz, alguazil-major, Alonzo de Tapis, Jorge de Alvarado, and many of the veteran conquerors, and had attempted to seize the government by force, and much disturbance and some bloodshed had ensued.  Salazar and Chirinos had carried their point, and had taken the two former deputies and many of their friends prisoners; and as discontents and opposition still prevailed, they had confiscated the property of their opponents, which they distributed among their own partizans.  They had superseded Zuazo in his office of alcalde-major, and had imprisoned Rodrigo de Paz; yet Zuazo had brought about a temporary reconciliation.  During these disturbances, the Zapotecans and Mixtecans, and the inhabitants of a strong rocky district named Coatlan had rebelled, against whom the veedor Chirinos had