construction of this bridge, during which time we had nothing to subsist on but grass, and a wild root called by the Indians quecuenque, which burnt our lips and tongues. After we had at length, with great difficulty, safely crossed this broad estuary, our further progress was almost impeded by an impenetrable barrier of thickets and woods, through which we were obliged to cut a road with our swords. In this way we continued to move forward in a straight line, in the hopes of reaching some township. One morning, as usual, when we had again commenced marching forward in this laborious manner, Cortes himself began to find that our position was truly miserable. He could not help hearing how the men murmured against him, and cursed the whole expedition, and the terrible hunger they sustained; uttering aloud that he ought immediately to march back to Mexico, if at least he was not desirous of starving us to death. To all this suffering was added, that we now saw before us nothing but terrific mountains, which almost hid the very heavens from our view. Though some of us climbed to the tops of the highest trees, all we could see was one huge pile of mountains frowning above the other on every side. Besides this, two of our Indian guides had secretly decamped, and the third was so ill, that he was unable to move along, and had so far lost his recollection, that he could give us no information as to which way we were to bend our steps. But as Cortes was a man who never shrunk back from any difficulty, and whose active mind was never at a loss, he ordered the pilot Pedro Lopez to bring him the compass, which he placed on our map of nequen cloth above mentioned, and then desired him to point out the direction we were to take, in order to reach the nearest township. In accordance with Lopez's instructions, we commenced cutting our way through the woods in an easterly direction, and moved up the mountains. It was here that our general himself declared he should be quite at a loss what to do, if we did not reach some township by the next day.
Although every one of us would gladly have marched back to New Spain at this moment, yet, strengthened by hope, we continued our difficult