The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. 2

1/25/22, 8:50 PM The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo written by himself, containing a true an…
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 thecountry and to search for
provisions.
The population of the town of Buena Vista consisted of fortySpaniards, four Spanish ladies
and two mulattoes. The whole of these people were suffering from ill health, and had a
yellow sickly appearanceabout them. They had no provisions, and suffered as muchfrom
hunger as we did ourselves, nor could any one tell where we wereto 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.
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We were altogether eighty in number, and we all set out on foot, inorder 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 neighbourhoodwas literally sown with
cocoa-nut trees. We first feastedsumptuously 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 forthe 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 wherewe were staying, he ordered Sandoval to follow us with the greaterpart
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 little delighted to findus thus surrounded by
plenty, and he immediately despatched theMexicans with thirty bushels of maise to Cortes,
who distributed this welcome supply among the colonists, and as they had not been
accustomed for a length of time to any other nourishment than fruit and a little cassave
bread, they ate so ravenously of the maise that the greaterpart fell ill in consequence, and
seven of them died.
During this great distress for want of provisions, it pleased theAlmighty that a vessel should
run into the harbour from Cuba, havingon board seven passengers, seven horses, forty pigs,
eight barrels ofpickled meat, and a large quantity of cassave bread. The cargo belongedto a
certain Antonio de Comargo, and Cortes purchased thewhole of it upon credit, distributing
a great part of the provisionsamong the colonists; but the consequences again proved fatal
to manyof these unfortunate persons, for they had become so enfeebled, thattheir stomachs
were unable to bear this very nourishing food, whichbrought on dysentery, and ten more of
them died.
As this vessel had brought a few soldiers and had eight sailors onboard, Cortes determined
to embark in her and sail up the river to visitthe townships which lay on the banks, and to
explore the interior ofthe country. He also ordered one of the brigantines of Gil Gonsalez
de Avila to be repaired, and a boat to be constructed in the shape ofthose used in unloading
vessels; also four canoes, to be securely fastenedtogether. On board these vessels Cortes
embarked with thirtysoldiers, the eight sailors, and twenty Mexicans. He may have sailed
up the river to the distance of about forty miles, when he came to alarge lake, which, to
judge from the measurement of the eye, was about twenty-four miles in breadth, and its
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