After the royal officers had weighed and valued the gold, which exceeded, as I have already mentioned, 600,000 crowns, exclusive of the silver and other ornamental articles, it was proposed to deduct the royal fifth, and to distribute the shares among the officers and soldiers. Cortes proposed to postpone the division till we acquired more treasure, and had more exact weights: But the soldiers were clamorous for an immediate division, as we perceived that above a third part had disappeared since the various articles were taken to pieces, Cortes and the captains and others being continually carrying it away and concealing it for their own use. It was at length agreed to make the division next day, when it was still found to exceed 600,000 crowns in weight. On making the division, Cortes in the _first_ place caused a fifth to be laid aside for his majesty; _secondly_, a fifth for himself, as had been agreed upon; _thirdly_, a portion to reimburse the naval expenditure incurred by Velasquez, the destruction of the ships, and all the expences of the expedition from Cuba; _fourthly_, for the expences of the agents whom we had sent to Spain; _fifthly_, for the shares of our companions who were in garrison at Villa Rica; _sixthly_, for the value of the horses which had been killed; _seventhly_, for the reverend Father Olmeda and our captains; _eighthly_, double shares for the cavalry, musketeers, and crossbow-men. When all these deductions were made from the stock, the shares which remained for each soldier were hardly worth acceptance, not exceeding 100 crowns a-man. We were obliged to submit, having no one to appeal to for justice; yet many were very clamorous, whom Cortes secretly endeavoured to appease, giving a little to one and a little to another in private, and feeding all with fair promises. Our captains got chains of gold made for them by the Mexican workmen, Cortes did the same, and had a superb service of gold plate made for his table. Many of our soldiers, who had been fortunate in secreting plunder, had golden ornaments made for their use, and gave themselves up to deep gaming, for which purpose they made cards from drum-heads; and thus we passed our time in Mexico. One Cardenas, a pilot, who had a wife and children, seeing that all the immense treasure of Montezuma had dwindled down to paltry shares of a hundred crowns, made loud complaints of the injustice he and all of us had experienced. On this coming to the ears of Cortes, he called us together, and gave us a long honied speech, wondering how we should be so clamorous about a paltry sum of gold, as the whole country, with all its rich mines, would soon be ours, by which we would all have enough to make us lords and princes, and I know not all what. After this he distributed presents secretly among the most clamorous, and promised Cardenas to send home 300 crowns to his wife and children.