Page:Jesus Maria letter (1651).djvu/6

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that the time that we served the Captain Agustín Pérez had been three years, and one for Francisco Galindo, which makes four. We who labored were not one nor two, but all the men and women, boys and girls, and what we got from all this labor had been exhaustion and nothing else. They said that the hoes we used to dig with would be given to us. I asked Francisco Galindo about them and he said yes. And the Lord Governor said that yes, they are ours. Now they are taking them from us. I do not know what this is, in all the years we served the King, and we get nothing more than sweat and work. Your Grace will know this, Sir.

When the son of the Lord Governor, Don Luis, came here, he said to me to sell a piece of land, that the Lord Governor said so. I replied that even though what I wanted was given, I would not give it. It was also said to me that the cattle would be made to go to the sea. I replied, under no circumstances, because the food that would be there, such as acorns and palm fruits, would be eaten and left to spoil. He returned to me to ask if there was another empty piece of land. I said no, that even if there would be, I would not give it. He returned to say to me that yes, he was saying that in the north, there would be made a place where the cattle would be. I responded that yes, about four leagues further: from a faraway place, yes. And I said this, irritated, fearing that His Grace would be irritated. And this was lent. For this, I implore that I be pardoned, Your Grace. The inhabitants of this place have given me a piece of land to sow in. For the love of God, Your Grace, pardon me and hear me. The olatas in this place are us five. One has ten inhabitants, another twelve, another ten, another eight.