Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/325

 began to question him by signs, when another was found among the prisoners who said he could understand him; and he told me that he was a native of Teculutlan. As soon as I heard this name, it seemed to me I had heard it mentioned before, so, when I reached the town, I searched amongst my memoranda and found that name as belonging to a place somewhere across the country, a distance altogether of seventy-eight leagues from the Spanish settlement on the South Sea governed by Pedro de Alvarado, one of my captains; it also appeared from the memoranda that some of Pedro de Alvarado's men had been in that town of Teculutlan, which indeed this Indian confirmed; and this news pleased me very much.

All the people being collected, and the boats not having yet returned, we consumed the small quantity of provisions which had been kept dry, and embarked on board the brigantine, though the vessel was so small that there was hardly room for us all. The intention was to cross the gulf to the town where we had first landed, and where we had seen the ripening maize fields. More than twenty-five days having passed, we reasonably expected to find it ripe enough for our use, and so it was; for, one morning, we saw boats and canoes coming towards us in the middle of the gulf, and, continuing altogether in that direction, we reached land. Immediately after landing, all my people, Spaniards as well as Indians, besides forty native prisoners, went straight to the town, where they found excellent maize fields, the greater part fully ripe. Meeting no opposition, both Christians and Indians made three journeys to and fro that day, for the distance was short, carrying loads of grain, so that the brigantine being filled, as well as the boats, I went to the town myself, leaving them engaged in transporting the maize. I at once sent the two barques, another which had arrived there with a ship which had been lost on the coast coming to New Spain, and four canoes, to gather this great