The cold made itself felt with vigor at night and the sun burned
them by day - alternations which made the sick suffer cruelly, two or
three of them dying every day, until the whole sea expedition which had
been composed of more than ninety men, found itself reduced to eight
soldiers and as many sailors in a state to attend to the safeguarding of
the ships, the working of the launches, the custody of the camp, and the
care of the sick.
There was no news whatever of the land divisions. The neighborhood of
the fort was diligently searched for tracks of a horse herd, but none
were discovered. They did not know what to think of this delay. At
length, on the 14th of May, the Indians gave notice to some soldiers on
the beach that from the direction of the south men mounted on horses and
armed as they, were coming. It was the first land division under Rivera,
fifty days from Velicata, without the loss of a man or having a sick
one; but they were on half rations; they had only three sacks of flour
left and were issuing two tortillas[12] per day to each man. Great was
the rejoicing in the camp of the sick over the arrival of Rivera's
force.
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