--

One would imagine, on reading the above extract, Bernal Diaz had never
killed an Indian in his life, and that he had sacrificed his prospects
in coming to Mexico solely to introduce `a Christian polity and justice'
amongst the inhabitants. Yet he was no hypocrite, but a stout
sagacious soldier, even kindly, according to his lights,
and with a love of animals uncommon in a Spaniard, for he has preserved
the names and qualities of all the horses and mares which came over
in the fleet from the Havana with Cortes.* The phrase, `despues de Dios'
(after God) occurs repeatedly in the writings of almost all
the `conquistadores' of America. Having, after God, conquered America,
the first action of the conquerors was to set about making their fortunes.
In those countries which produced gold and silver, as Mexico and Peru,
they worked the mines by the labour of the Indians,
the cruelties and hardships being so great that, in a letter of Philip II. to
the Come de Chinchon, the Viceroy of Peru, dated Madrid, April 30, 1639,
written fifty years after the discovery, he says: `These Indians flee,
become ill, and die, and have begun to diminish greatly in number,
and they will be finished soon unless an efficient remedy
is provided shortly.'

--
* Especially noting down the appearance and qualities of `el caballo Motilla',
the horse of Gonzalo de Sandoval. Thus does he minutely describe Motilla,
`the best horse in Castille or the Indies'. `El mejor caballo,
y de mejor carrera, revuelto a/ una mano y a\ otra que decian
que no se habia visto mejor en Castilla, ni en esa tierra
era castan~o acastan~ado, y una estrella en la frente,
y un pie izquierdo calzado, que se decia el caballo Motilla;