Cortez, to his extreme disappointment, found the country poor. There was no gold, and but little food. Worn down by anxiety and fatigue, he was emaciated in the extreme, and was so exceedingly feeble that his friends despaired of his life. Indeed, to Cortez, death seemed so near, that, with forethought characteristic of this enthusiast, he had made preparations for his burial. One day, as Cortez, in the deepest dejection, was conversing with his friends, a vessel was discerned in the distant horizon of the sea. The ship had sailed from Havana, and brought to Cortez dispatches from Mexico. He retired to his apartment to read them. As he intently perused the documents, his friends in the antechamber heard him groan aloud in anguish. The tidings were indeed appalling, and sufficient to crush even the spirit of Cortez. For a whole day his distress was so great that he did not leave his room. The next morning he called for an ecclesiastic, confessed his sins, and ordered a mass. He then, somewhat calmed by devotion, read to his friends the intelligence he had received. It was reported in Mexico that the whole party which had entered upon the expedition to Honduras had perished. Consequently, all the property of the adventurers had been sold at public auction. The funeral service of Cortez had been celebrated with great pomp, a large part of his immense property having been devoted to defray the expenses. The deputies whom Cortez had left in charge of the government had quarreled among themselves, and two strong parties rising up, the colony had been distracted by civil war and bloodshed. Every day there was fighting. The natives, encouraged by these disorders, had revolted in three provinces. A force which had been sent to quell the insurrection had been attacked and defeated. The same dispatches also contained a letter from the father of Cortez, informing him that his enemies were busy, and successful in their intrigues in the court at Madrid, and that two very important colonies in Mexico had been wrested from his command, and placed, by order of the king, under the government of others. Cortez decided to return immediately, but privately, to Mexico. His enemies, who had usurped the government, had given out that he was dead. Cortez was apprehensive that, were his return anticipated, he would be waylaid and assassinated. He therefore made arrangements for his friends to return by land, while he privately embarked for Vera Cruz. A violent storm arose, with head winds, and the vessel, after struggling a few days against the gale, was compelled, with shattered rigging, to return to Truxillo. Again, after a few days, the vessel weighed anchor, and again it was compelled to return. Cortez now, in extreme debility of body and dejection of mind, was exceedingly perplexed respecting his duty. "He ordered a solemn mass," says Diaz, "and prayed fervently to the Holy Ghost to enlighten him as to his future proceedings."