In a despatch to the emperor, written soon afterward, the ex-governor complains bitterly of the wrongs which he had suffered through the machinations of his enemies; but, as he himself remarks in his letter, "a little favor at court is of more avail than the most faithful service." The agreement was ratified by the crown, and about the close of 1539 Montejo departed from the province after a brief and somewhat inglorious career, while about the same time Alvarado returned to Guatemala, leaving Alonso de Cáceres as his representative in Honduras, and Pedraza a year or two later took ship for Spain where, after some delay, he received the papal bull of confirmation and was duly consecrated, occupying his time meanwhile by making contracts for negro slaves in the name of the crown, with a view of utilizing their labor in the development of the mines.[XVII‑17] On his return to the province in 1545, the bishop[XVII‑18] undertook a pastoral tour through the province, lasting eighteen months. He complains bitterly of the hardships which he endured and of the demoralized and poverty-stricken condition of the colonists. "The natives," he says, "have nearly all fled to the mountains, being in terror of the Spaniards, who have continued to enslave them for so many years. Many Portuguese, Italians, and other foreigners have propagated disease and vice among them so that even Indian maidens of tender age are corrupted to a sad extent, while bigamy and polygamy are of frequent occurrence." Valdivieso, who was residing at the time at Gracias á Dios, awaiting consecration as bishop of Nicaragua, also relates that the church was held in contempt, that the Spaniards were as a rule extremely lax in their observance of all religious duties, and that they led a more vicious life than had ever been known among Christians.