[Footnote 193:  By this time their course must have long been almost due south along the coast of the new kingdom of Leon, and province of Nuevo Santander.—­E.]

Next day three parties were sent out in different directions to discover the country.  The two parties which went along the coast to the right and left soon returned with some broken pieces of earthen ware, of the kinds which are made at Talavera and Malaga in Spain, which gave them much satisfaction to think that they must now be in the neighbourhood of their countrymen.  Gonzalo Silvestre, who went up the country with the third party, at the end of a quarter of a league saw some Indians fishing on a lake[194], and two others gathering fruit from the trees.  The Spaniards endeavoured to lay hold of these two Indians, but one of them escaped by swimming over the lake.  Silvestre found likewise in a cottage two small baskets of fruit, a turkey, a cock and two Spanish hens, and some conserve of maguey.  Still holding fast the Indian, Silvestre went back to his comrades at the sea-side, and to all the inquiries they made of the Indian as to where they were, his only answer was Brezos!  Brezos! which, as they afterwards learnt, was meant to signify that he belonged to a Spaniard named Christoval de Brezos.  On rejoining his companions, Silvestre found them rejoicing at the sight of the broken earthen dishes; but they were still more gratified at seeing the Spanish poultry, and the Indian being now reassured on finding he was in the hands of Spaniards, told them they were in the province of Panuco, and that the other brigantines had gone up the river Tampico to that city, which was ten leagues off.  He said likewise that he belonged to one Christoval de Brezos; and that a cacique resided only at the distance of a league and a half who could read and write.  Accordingly they gave the Indian some toys and sent him to the cacique; and in four hours afterwards the cacique came to them attended by eight Indians, loaded with fowls, fish, fruit, and Indian corn, and brought them paper, pens, and ink, that they might write an account of their arrival and situation to the governor of Panuco.

[Footnote 194:  Probably the lake of Tamiagua, a few miles south from the river Tampico, into which, as will be found in the sequel, the other five brigantines had got at the beginning of the storm.  In this case, the two brigantines had run upon a spit which separates that lake or lagoon from the sea.—­E.]

The two men who had gone in search of the five brigantines, found them in the river Tampico, so that the whole company met at the end of eight days, all barefooted and almost entirely naked, having only some scanty coverings of the skins of deer, bears, and other animals.  The governor of Panuco treated them with much attention, and sent advice of their situation to the viceroy of Mexico, who ordered them to be sent without delay to that city, and sent them four horse-loads of shirts,