appetite and fired his imagination. Don Hernando, in turn,
sent the treasure to Spain as a bribe to soften the heart of
Charles V toward a rebel, and then marched boldly toward the
Aztec capital, fighting battles and winning native allies as he
went. In spite of a veritable "Dunkirk" in the Noche Triste
retreat, he overthrew Montezuma, made himself master of the
heart of the country, was forgiven for rebellion, and rewarded by
being made captain-general and marquis, with thousands of
tributary subjects.

Cortés, by his lucky strike, set everybody in motion. To dis-
cover other Mexicos, great prospecting expeditions were organ-
ized, some launched in Spain, some in the islands, and others on
the mainland of North and South America. As a rule they were
privately financed, for the Emperor was thrifty. A typical ex-
pedition consisted of a few hundred Spaniards, followed by
hordes of natives carrying the baggage, opening roads, per-
forming camp duty, and serving as couriers and interpreters.
As far as possible the invaders lived off the country they raided.
But in most cases, as a precautionary measure, a commissary de-
partment was driven on all fours, and included droves of hogs,
herds of cattle, and flocks of sheep and goats, brought from
Spain or the West Indies with immeasurable difficulty. Supply
ships crossing the ocean with livestock and provisions stank
to heaven. Below the Isthmus of Panama, immense droves of
llamas were taken along both as pack animals and to serve as
food. An airplane view of Mundus Novus at almost any time in
the two decades after 1520 would have disclosed several different
bands of these gold-thirsty prospectors, crawling like armies of
ants across the face of the Hemisphere in numerous regions
wide apart, all bound on the same errand. In some instances
they were able to penetrate the mainland by the great river
systems. But whether they traveled by water or by land, their
object was the same--wealth and adventure. The ranks of these
armies were filled with eager young fellows who had read in
Spain or obtained in the book stalls of Mexico and Lima the
romances of chivalry just then being published-Amadís de
Gaula, Las Serges de Esplandián, Palmería de Oliva, and a

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