wn we found our condition very little bettered, for
there was neither any bread in the storehouses nor in the dwellings of
the colonists; who, in the bargain, were even unacquainted with the
surrounding neighbourhood, and only knew the way to two townships, which
had long ago been deserted by the inhabitants. Cortes' first care was to
adopt some means for obtaining provisions; he, therefore, instantly
despatched Luis Marin, with the soldiers of Guacasualco into the
country, in search of maise. How far we succeeded in this I will relate
in the following chapter.

CHAPTER CLXXX.

_How eighty of us on the second day after our arrival in Buena
Vista, marched out under the command of Luis Marin to explore the
country and to search for provisions._

The population of the town of Buena Vista consisted of forty Spaniards,
four Spanish ladies and two mulattoes. The whole of these people were
suffering from ill health, and had a yellow sickly appearance about
them. They had no provisions, and suffered as much from hunger as we did
ourselves, nor could any one tell where we were to go in search of
maise for this purpose. Cortes, therefore, saw that there was not a
moment to be lost, and he despatched Luis Marin, with the men of
Guacasualco, into the country.

We were altogether eighty in number, and we all set out on foot, in
order first to see whether horses would be able to traverse the country.
An Indian, of Cuba, accompanied us as guide to some townships which lay
thirty-two miles further up the country. When we reached these we found,
to our inexpressible joy, that they contained great abundance of maise,
beans, and other vegetables; besides that, the whole neighbourhood was
literally sown with cocoa-nut trees. We first feasted sumptuously
ourselves and then despatched a courier to our general, desiring him to
send us all the Mexican troops to fetch away the maise, forwarding him
in advance ten bushels of the latter as a supply for the moment, and
begged of him to send our horses to us.

When Cortes learnt that we had arrived in so fertile a neighbourhood,
and was told by some Indian merchants that the road to Naco, where
Christobal de Oli was beheaded, led through the township where we were
staying, he ordered Sandoval to follow us with the greater part of the
remaining troops, and not to leave this township until he should receive
further instructions.

Sandoval, on arriving in our camp, was not a