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289 introduction B undled together with Juan Jaramillo’s narrative (Document 30) and the “relación del suceso” (Document 29) in the Archivo General de indias under signatura (catalog number) AGi, patronato, 20, n.5, r.8, is the “traslado de las nuevas,” which, like its companion documents, was probably collected by carlos v’s royal chronicler, Juan páez de castro. 1 the handwriting of the text, however, does not match that of Jaramillo’s report or the relación del suceso, nor does it match that of the notes it bears indicating origin in páez’s collection. Both the Jaramillo document and the traslado do, though, bear incorrect dates at the heads of the first folio and the cover sheet (1531 in the case of the traslado) that seem to be in the same hand. when the dates were added to the two documents and by whom are unknown and thus may have nothing to do with the royal chronicler’s ferreting out of documents in preparation for his anticipated but never realized history of the emperor’s reign. it has become common practice to call this document the “traslado de las nuevas.” these are the first four words in the legend at the head of the first folio, probably added by a clerk or other functionary and meaning “copy of the news.” the name of neither the author of the original document nor the copyist who evidently prepared the traslado in the ciudad de méxico is indicated in the document itself. frederick webb Hodge suggested that the author of the original message on which the traslado is based was García López de cárdenas, the coronado expedition’s maestre de campo. 2 this seems unlikely because, for one thing, the author refers to the maestre de campo in the third person. that López de cárdenas was not the author is further indicated by the author’s reporting that the captain general came out of the fighting at the first ciudad of cíbola “on his own [two] feet,” whereas, according to Juan troyano, pedro de Ledesma, and vázquez de coronado’s own later testimony concerning the fighting that day, “other spaniards lifted him up and carried him to camp” unconscious. 3 López certainly would have been aware of this, because he had thrown himself on top of the general to protect him from further injury. 4 even though the author of the traslado message was probably not López de cárdenas, internal evidence from the document permits the certain conclusion that it was written by one of the 75 horsemen and 30 footmen whom vázquez de coronado took with him in the advance guard that traveled from culiacán to cíbola between April and July 1540. whoever the author was, he was likely to have been someone from the captain general’s personal retinue. the most likely candidate may be ramos (probably Juan de ramos), the captain general’s surgeon, because the author seems to have as his purpose in writing the message to reassure the addressee that vázquez de coronado has been restored to health after his nearly fatal head injury during the advance guard’s attack on cíbola. He even states that he is sending the letter, rather than anyone else, “because it is fitting that Document 22 Traslado de las Nuevas (Anonymous Narrative), 1540 AGi, patronato, 20, n.5, r.8 290 DocuMent 22 i be the one who writes to your Grace and my lady about everything which may occur concerning the health of the general.” 5 not wholly certain either is to whom the message was sent. the author addresses that person as “vuestra merced,” or “your Grace,” indicating an exalted personage, perhaps the viceroy. the author also appears familiar with Beatriz de estrada, the captain general’s wife. He refers to the couple as mi señor and mi señora, my lord and my lady. 6 the original message was, then, a personal letter probably written in August 1540, certainly after July 19. it may have traveled to the ciudad de méxico with the same courier who carried the captain general’s own letter to the viceroy of August 3 (Document 19). A careless transcription of the traslado was published by Joaquín pacheco and francisco de cárdenas in 1873. 7 it was republished in 1992 by carmen de mora. 8 George winship used the...

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