How far the governor contributed towards the expenses of the
outfit is not very clear. If the friends of Cortes are to be believed,
nearly the whole burden fell on him; since, while he supplied the
squadron without remuneration, the governor sold many of his own
stores at an exorbitant profit. Yet it does not seem probable that
Velasquez, with such ample means at his command, should have thrown on
his deputy the burden of the expedition; nor that the latter, had he
done so, could have been in a condition to meet these expenses,
amounting, as we are told, to more than twenty thousand gold ducats.
Still it cannot be denied that an ambitious man like Cortes, who was
to reap all the glory of the enterprise, would very naturally be
less solicitous to count the gains of it, than his employer, who,
inactive at home, and having no laurels to win, must look on the
pecuniary profits as his only recompense. The question gave rise, some
years later, to a furious litigation between the parties, with which
it is not necessary at present to embarrass the reader.
It is due to Velasquez to state that the instructions delivered by
him for the conduct of the expedition cannot be charged with a
narrow or mercenary spirit. The first object of the voyage was to find
Grijalva, after which the two commanders were to proceed in company
together. Reports had been brought back by Cordova, on his return from
the first visit to Yucatan, that six Christians were said to be
lingering in captivity in the interior of the country.
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