back.  In their voyage homewards, one of the ships was lost on the coast of Brazil, and such of the Spaniards as escaped drowning, were killed and eaten by the savages.  The other ship went to St Jago, in the island of Hispaniola, and thence returned to Seville, in Spain[79].  In the same year, Don Pedro de Mendoca went from Cadiz for the river Plata, with twelve ships and 2000 men, being the largest armament, both of ships and men, that had ever been sent from Spain to the new world.  Mendoca died on his return to Spain, but most part of his men remained in the country on the Rio Plata, where they built a large city, containing now 2000 houses, in which great numbers of Indians dwell along with the Spaniards.  From this place they discovered and conquered the country to a great extent, even to the mines of Potosi and the town of La Plata[80], which is at the distance of 500 miles from Buenos Ayres.

Cortes having learnt, in the year 1536, that his ship, of which Fortunio Ximenez was pilot, had been seized by Nunnez de Guzman, sent three ships to Xalisco, while he marched thither by land with a respectable force; and, on his arrival there, he found his ship all spoiled and rifled.  When his small squadron was come round to Xalisco, he went himself on board, and left Andrew de Tapia to command his land force.  Setting sail from thence, he came, on the first of May, to a point of land, which he named Cape St Philip, and, to an island close by this cape, he gave the name of St Jago.  Three days afterwards, he came to the bay where the pilot Ximenez was killed, which he named Bahia de Santa Cruz, where he went on land, and sent out Andrew de Tapia to explore the country.  Cortes again set sail, and came to the river now called Rio de San Pedro y San Paulo, where the ships were separated by a tempest.  One was driven to the bay of Santa Cruz, another to the river of Guajaval, and the third was stranded on the coast near Xalisco, whence the crew went overland to Mexico.  After waiting a long while for his other two ships, Cortes made sail, and entered into the gulf of California, otherwise called Mar Vermejo, or the Vermilion Sea, and by some, the sea of Cortes.  Having penetrated 50 leagues within that gulf, he espied a ship riding at an anchor, and, on his approach towards her, had nearly been lost, if he had not received assistance from that other ship.  Having repaired his own ship, he departed from thence with both ships; and, having procured provisions at a very dear rate, at St Michael de Culiacan, he went to the harbour of Santa Cruz, where he received information that Don Antonio de Mendoca had arrived from Spain as Viceroy of Mexico.  He therefore left Francis de Ulloa with the command of his ships, ordering him to proceed on discoveries; and going to Acapulco, he received a messenger from Don Antonio de Mendoca, the new viceroy, certifying his arrival, and the assumption of his authority.  Mendoca likewise sent him the copy of a letter from Francis Pizarro, stating that Mango, the Inca of Peru, had risen in arms, and assailed the city of Cusco with 100,000 fighting men, having slain his brother, John Pizarro, and above 400 Spaniards, with 200 horses; and that he himself, and the Spanish dominions in Peru, were in imminent danger, unless speedily and effectually assisted.