Sent by the 'judiciary and municipal council of the very rich villa of Vera Cruz' in July of 1519, what is commonly called the first letter of Cortés has little to say about the first approach at San Juan de Ulúa.
"... we reached the port and bay which is called San Juan, where ... captain Juan de Grijalba had traded [1518].... As soon as we arrived, the natives of that land came to discover what caravels those were that had reached their shores, but as the day was already much advanced, and it was almost night, the captain remained in the ships and ordered that no one should land."
This comes midway in that first letter, after the negotiations and attempts at religious correction at Tobasco, and that having followed in their chronology as well, the battle at Cintla.
Bernal Díaz expands the story a little but not by much. Beginning his chp xxxviii,
"On Holy Thursday, 1519, we arrived with the entire fleet at the port of San Juan de Ulúa, and as the pilot Alaminos knew it well from when we came with Juan de Grijalva, he immediately ordered us to anchor in a place where the ships would be secure from the north wind, and they put their royal standards and weather vanes on the flagship." [p. 56]
The north wind along the southern rim of the Gulf of Mexico would continue to be a problem for ships. Nothing anybody could do about that.
"About a half hour after we had anchored, two very large canoes, which they call pirogues, arrived. In them were many Mexican Indians, and when they saw the standards and the large ship, they knew that was where they had to go to speak to the captain. They went directly to the ship, went aboard and asked which was the tatuan, which means "ruler". Doña Marina understood ... so she pointed to Cortés. The Indians paid their respects to Cortés, as was their custom, and they said to him that he was very welcome, that a servant of the great Moctezuma, their lord, sent them to find out who we were, what we were seeking, and that if we needed something for ourselves and the ships to tell them and they would provide it." [p. 56]
This does parallel the story given by the locals in many respects. But not all.
"Cortés answered through the two interpreters ... that he was very grateful, and he then ordered that they be given something to eat, wine to drink, and some blue beads. When they had drunk, he told them we had come to see them and to trade, we would be no bother to them at all, and they should approve of our arrival in their land. The messengers went back delighted." [p. 56]quotes from The True History of the Conquest of New Spain translated with an introduction and notes by Janet Burke and Ted Humphrey, Indianapolis, Hackett Publishing Co, Inc. 2012
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