When the captain Diego de Rojas could not find any provisions in all those parts, thickly peopled as they were from one end to the other, he received news of another very great province called _Concho_, and his necessity being so great, he resolved to adventure his person and those of his followers in an effort to find something to eat. Having decided to go there, they succeeded in reaching it in a few days. The fame of the horses had so cowed the Indians that they were stricken with terror and were able to offer but little resistance to the Spaniards, who found plenty of maize and other supplies. Farther on they discovered another settlement where there were many ewes and fowls and ducks. Diego de Rojas had come upon such abundance of provisions that he now regretted having sent to detain Felipe Gutiérrez who, notwithstanding that he encountered some difficulty in the march through the forests, was already very near at hand, on learning which Diego de Rojas was exceedingly glad. It was not long before Diego Gutiérrez and the Camp-master Nicolás de Heredia arrived, and they were received by all with great joy, thanks being given to God that they should thus be united without the loss of a man. CHAPTER XCIV _How, after the captains were united, they determined to go forward; how they suffered much from thirst, insomuch that many of their servants perished, yet how they went on exploring._ The captains and all the Spaniards, after having rested for some days from their former hardships, and discussed what might be best for them to do, it seemed good to all that they should pass on and traverse as many provinces as they could; for, if they could reach the mighty Rio de la Plata, they would certainly find that its banks were peopled by very rich nations, and they would all soon be very prosperous, and would settle in that land which all who came from Spain were so anxious to see. When they had come to this resolution, they were told by the Indians that fourteen leagues farther on to the west [_sic_] there was a wide tract called _Mocaquaxa_,[157] but that there was no water on the way, and no trees but _algarrobos_.[158] When the captains knew that there would be scarcity of water, in order that the servants who carried the baggage might not fail, they ordered ewes' skins to be prepared and calabashes to be collected for carrying water. They did not take much count of this desert because, if it was only fourteen leagues wide, they could march quickly over it and they would not be much troubled about water. So they struck camp and began the march late in the afternoon, when the sun was sinking to hide its brightness behind the high hills to the westward. They marched with much haste that evening and part of the night, until it was so dark that the guide could not make out the way, nor guess where he was going. So, as they could march no farther, the tents were pitched