While Governor Salazar Vallecilla was under suspension, a ship he had sent to Spain came back with largely unregistered cargo of dry goods and wine. His confederates hid what they could before the return of Treasurer and Interim Co-Governor Francisco Menendez Marquez, who was out in the provinces pacifying Indians, but the treasurer was able to locate 30,000 pesos’ worth and apply price evaluations retroactively to what had been sold. For doing this, he declared, his honor and his very life were in danger. The governor and his henchmen were all Basques, Francisco said meaningfully, and the accountant behaved like one. [Note 70: Francisco Menendez Marquez 2/8/1648] Francisco was probably disgruntled at having been left out of the distribution. He was not ordinarily so solicitous of the king’s coffer. He and the same accountant, Ponce de Leon, had been jointly overdrawn 960 ducats from the almorifazgo account between 1631 and 1640, and during most of that time Ponce de Leon was not in Florida. [Note 71: Pedro Beltran de Santa Cruz, Havana 11/20/1655] (Bushnell KC)