Such was the condition of affairs when Alvarado returned, and there is no doubt that his timely arrival saved the colony from destruction.[VI‑35] He recognized at once that the occasion required prompt and vigorous action, and struck at the root of the evil by prohibiting, under pain of death and confiscation, all serious quarrelling, whether by word or writing. Other measures for the correction of abuses and the reorganization of the affairs of the province quickly followed. A new distribution of repartimientos was ordered, and the conditions of military service were regulated. Whoever had two thousand Indians assigned to him must always be provided with a double set of weapons and two horses, and be ready to take the field at an hour's notice. He who had one thousand must possess a single set of arms and one horse. The encomendero of five hundred natives must be provided with a cross-bow or arquebuse, and with sword and dagger, and must furnish a horse if he could. * * * * * The laws existing in Guatemala as to the acquisition, tenure, and conveyance of land would, under a proper administration, and in a territory rich as was that province in natural resources, have assured prosperity to all but the unthrifty and improvident. Gold-mining met with fair return, and notwithstanding the ravages of wild beasts, the industries of stock-raising and agriculture were successfully conducted.[VI‑36] Though the settlers were few in number,[VI‑37] they were sufficient, when acting in concert, to hold the natives in subjection. The citizens were for the most part required to do duty as soldiers in time of need. None but citizens could obtain a title to land; nor was that title confirmed until after a long term of service; nor could any acquire, even by purchase, more than his due share of the public domain.[VI‑38] But such was the mischief wrought by the maleadministration of Orduña that most of the Spaniards were on the verge of destitution. On the 25th of September 1529 we find that the payment of debts was suspended for four months by order of the cabildo, on the ground that the horses and arms of the colonists would else be sold to others and the services of their owners lost to the province. Moreover the high price of all imported commodities added greatly to the distress of the more impoverished settlers. A dozen horseshoes sold for fifteen pesos, a common saddle for fifty, and a cloth coat could not be had for less than seventy pesos. The distance from the confines of Guatemala to Mexico, whence all such articles were obtained, was two hundred and seventy leagues. Two portions of the road, one of forty-five and the other of sixty leagues, led through a wilderness impassable during the rainy season, except to Indians, on account of the swollen rivers and marshes. * * * * *