( 391 ) 



tion of looking out for fome other place of difembarkation, and partly 

 induced by letters from the friends of Cortes who were in the troops 

 commanded by De Oli. On that night a hard gale fprung up, by 

 which our vefTels were driven on fhore and entirely loft, with above 

 thirty of the foldiers. The reft were mide -prifoners, after being two 

 days without food, and almoft dying with cold, being thoroughly foak- 

 ed in the fait water and with rain which at that feafon fell very heavily. 

 De Oli was very triumphant on this occafion. He made his prifoners 

 fwear fidelity to him againft Cortes, rdeafing them all except Las Cafas. 

 The parties he had fent out againft Gonzalez de Avila returned about 

 this time. It feems that Avila cam^ there as governor of Golfo Dolce, 

 and had founded a town which he named St. Gil de Buena Vifta. De 

 Oli on hearing of it fent his troops againft him, who in their firft attack 

 had taken Avila prifoner, killed his nephew, and alfo eight of his fol- 

 diers. De Oli was now in great ftate with two captains as his prifo- 

 ners, and that all might know his valour which certainly was very great 

 fo far as his own perfon was concerned, he wrote a full account of his 

 exploits to "his frieid Velafquez. He afterwards marched up the coun- 

 try to a place called Naco, in a very populous diftricft, the whole of 

 which is now deftroyed. While De Oli remained here, he fent out 

 troops on different excurfions; among others he lent a party under one 

 Captain Briones who was the firft to inftigate him- to revolt. He was 

 a feditious fellow, and the iowei parts of his ears had been cut off, as 

 he ufed to tell us, for refufing, together with other officers, to furren- 

 der themfelves in a certain fortrcfs. This man was afterwards hanged 

 in Guatimala for mutiny. To return to my narrative, intelligence came 

 to De Oli, that Briones with his whole body had revolted from himj, 

 and gone to New Spain, which turned out to be the cafe. 



Las Cafes and De Avila being at large, though prifoners, for De 

 Oli was too brave to be under any apprehenfions from them, concerted 

 a plan with fome foldiers to put him to death, the fignal for which was 

 to be the words, "To me, friends of the King and Cortes, kill the ty- 

 rant ! " Las Cafas half in jeft as it were, and laughing, then alked 



him 



