on shipboard in irons, while Alvarado went a-foraging with a hundred men, chiefly adherents of the disaffected leaders.17 They found a fertile country, and several small towns. The inhabitants fled at their approach, leaving signs of recent human sacrifices in the temple. In one building, with pyramidal foundation several feet in height, were found a number of fine rooms, some filled with grain, beans, honey, and other provisions; others with cotton fabrics and feathers, adorned in instances with gold and silver. In obedience to strict orders nothing was touched save food.
The report brought back of the beauty of the country, together with the ample supplies obtained, tended toward harmony; and while the soldiers were thus easily reconciled to the new order of things, Cortés with his usual tact won over nearly all his adversaries.
Some he bribed, some he flattered; others were allured with hopes of preferment. Most remarkable was it that with such fire in his veins, he could so control it; for however treacherous Cortés knew them to be, seldom a sign escaped him that he suspected them. Even the imprisoned officers yielded to his persuasive power, aided as it was by irons, and soon were ranked among his devoted sustainers.18