In this great distress Cortes despatched all his servants and grooms with our guides to traverse the hills in search of maise plantations. On the first day of Easter they indeed returned with some maise, but all they had was scarcely a bushel, and what was this among so many mouths! Cortes, seeing that our distress was each moment increasing, ordered myself and several other soldiers, mostly of those who had settled in Guacasualco, into his presence, and told us our condition was at present so lamentable, that he must beg of us to search the whole country round to procure some kind of provisions or other. Pedro de Ircio happened to be present when Cortes was thus soliciting us; and as he was always ready with a mouthful of words, he supplicated Cortes to give him the command of this foraging party. As far as regards myself, replied our general, go, and may God be with you! But as I was well aware that Ircio was a miserable pedestrian, and, instead of being any assistance to us, would only be a troublesome companion, I secretly communicated what I thought to Cortes and my friend Sandoval, and requested that he might not be sent with us, as a person with splay feet as he had was least of all able to make his way through bogs and marshes; added to which, he was all talk, but seldom acted, and altogether unable to bear the fatigues of a long march. Our general, accordingly, followed my advice, and he countermanded the order he had given to Ircio. I now set out with four soldiers and two guides. First we passed several rivers of considerable depth, then crossed some marshes until we arrived at a small village, whither most of the inhabitants of the deserted township had fled. Here we had likewise the good fortune to find four houses, completely filled with maise, also about thirty fowls, and a few melons. We captured four Indians and three women, and we now celebrated Easter right jollily. Above a thousand Mexicans whom Cortes had sent after us arrived in the night, and we immediately loaded as much of the maise on them as they could carry, with which they returned to our camp: we at the same time sent above twenty fowls for Cortes and Sandoval, besides the prisoners we had taken, and then placed a watch over these storehouses in order that the inhabitants might not set fire to them during the night, or carry off their contents. The following day we continued our march, and discovered some more buildings full of maise, fowls, and various kinds of vegetables. Here I made myself a little ink, and I wrote a letter to our general on a small piece of drum skin, requesting him to send me a detachment of Indian troops, as we had found another storehouse full of provisions. The next day, accordingly, above thirty Spaniards and 500 Indians arrived, and each took as heavy a load of provisions as he could possibly carry. In this way God in his great mercy again relieved us in the utmost distress, and we halted five days in Taica to rest from our fatigues.