HISTORY OF MEXICO. 271 



de Portocarrero, coufin of the count de Medellin, Juan 

 Velafquez de Leon, a near relation to the governor, 

 Diego Ordaz, Francifco de Montejo, Francifco de Lugo, 

 and others, whom we {hall name in the courfe of our 

 hiflory. Amongfl all thefe, Pedro de Alvarado de Bada- 

 jos, Chrifloval de Olid de Baeza, in Andalufia, and Gon- 

 zales de Sandoval de Medellin, merit particular mention, 

 as they were the firft commanders of the troops employed 

 in that conquefl, and thofe who made the mod diflinguifh- 

 ed figure : all three warriors, extremely courageous, 

 enured to the fatigues of war, and /killed in the military 

 art, though otherwife different in character. Aha- 

 rado was a young man of handfome fliape, and extreme 

 agility, fair, graceful, lively, popular, addicted to luxu- 

 ries and pleafures, greedy of gold, of which he flood in 

 need to fupport his love of grandeur, and, as fome au- 

 thors affirm, unfcrupulous how he obtained it, inhumane 

 and violent in his conduct in fome expeditions. Olid 

 was flout-limbed, dark, and double. Both of them were 

 very ferviceable to Cortes in the conquefl ; but they prov- 

 ed ungrateful to him afterwards, and met with a tragical 

 end. Alvarado died in New Gallicia, killed by a horfe 

 which tumbled from a precipice. Olid was beheaded 

 by his enemies in the fquare or market-place of Naco, 

 in the province of Honduras. Sandoval, a youth of a 

 good family, was fcarcely twenty-two when he enlifled 

 in the expedition of his countryman Cortes. He was 

 well-fhaped, manly in flature, and of a robufl complexi- 

 on, his hair was of a chefnut colour and curly, his voice 

 flrong and thick ; a perfon of few words but excellent 

 deeds. Cortes fent him on the mofl difficult and dan- 

 gerous expeditions, in all of which he came off with fuc- 

 cefs and with honor. In the war againfl the Mexicans, 



he 



