inter quarters, they had marched by estimation 350
leagues, and lost 100 men and 80 horses by the way, without counting
their Indian servants, who were of vast use. This was the only fruit of
their long and painful march westwards in quest of New Spain, and of
refusing to follow the plan which had been devised by their late general
for descending the great river to the sea. At this period they were much
gratified by finding two contiguous towns on the great river of 200
houses each, which were enclosed by a wet ditch drawn from the river.
They were now reduced to 320 foot and 70 horse, or 390 in all, who now
remained of 900 men and 330 horses which had landed in the bay of
Espiritu Santo at the end of May 1539, four years and a half before. Yet
inured to hardships and accustomed to conquer, they immediately attacked
and gained possession of these towns, from which the inhabitants fled,
having heard of the irresistible valour of the Spaniards from other
tribes. They had the good fortune to find plenty of provisions in these
towns, and to remain undisturbed by the Indians, so that they soon
recovered from their fatigues; yet several died in consequence of their
past sufferings, and among the rest Juan Ortiz, their chief interpreter
and an excellent soldier.

[Footnote 190: They were already said to have reached it in the middle
of September. The discrepancy may either be an oversight of Herrera; or
they took from the middle of September to the end of November, in
descending the right bank of the great river to where they passed the
winter, having come to it much higher up than they intended.--E.]

Having determined to take up their quarters at this place, they
fortified one of the towns to serve as quarters for the winter. This
province, called _Aminoya_, lay seventeen leagues farther up the river
than Guachacoya, to which they had endeavoured to direct their course on
returning from the province of _Los Vaqueros_. Being somewhat recovered
towards the end of January 1543, they set to work to cut down and
prepare timber for building their brigantines. At this place, an old
Indian, who had been unable to make his escape along with the rest,
objected to their staying in their present quarters for the winter,
saying that the river was in use to overflow every fourteen years, and
that this was the expected season of its doing so. They refused however
to profit by this information, of which they had sufficient reason to
repent