Those who had received encomiendas of up to five hundred Indians also had to arrange to purchase either a crossbow and bolts, or, failing that, a firelock musket and enough ammunition to fire two hundred times. If an encomienda contained between five hundred and one thousand Indians, the recipient additionally had to obtain a horse. Those who received even larger encomiendas had to purchase more such goods. If an encomendero did not comply, he stood to lose his grant in its entirety.18
