In this miserable condition they came to the great river about the latter end of November[190].  In their march on the west side of the great river, from leaving the territory of Guachacoya to their arrival at their new winter 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 in the sequel.  The return of the Spaniards to the great river was soon known in all the neighbouring districts.  Upon which the cacique of Anilco, to prevent them from favouring the Guachacoyans as formerly, sent an embassy to Alvarado, offering his friendship and making mighty promises.  The ambassador