When All This Was Explained To Sandoval,
He Sent Captain Luis Marin To Communicate The Intelligence To Cortes, In
Expectation That He Would Support The Views Of Hernandez.
I was sent along
with Marin on this occasion, our whole force consisting of ten men.
Our
journey was exceedingly laborious, having to cross many rivers which were
much swollen by the rains, and we had at times to make our way through
hostile Indians armed with large heavy lances, by which two of our
soldiers were wounded. We had sometimes three difficult rivers to cross in
one day; and one river, named Xagua, ten leagues from Triumpho de la Cruz,
detained us for two days. By the side of that river we found the skeletons
of seven horses, which had belonged to the troops of de Oli, and had died
from eating poisonous herbs. Several of the rivers and inlets on our
journey were much infested by alligators.
Passing Triumpho de la Cruz and a place called Quemara, we arrived one
evening near Truxillo, where we saw five horsemen riding along the sea
shore, who happened to be our general and four of his friends taking the
air. After the first surprize at this unexpected meeting, Cortes
dismounted and embraced us all with tears in his eyes, quite overjoyed to
see us. It made me quite melancholy to see him, as he was so worn down by
distress and disease, that he appeared much reduced and extremely weak,
insomuch that he had even expected death, and had procured a Franciscan
habit to be buried in.
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