they found that Cristóbal de Olid had been killed by Spaniards loyal to Cortés months earlier. As it turned out, the expedition had been entirely unnecessary. What was worse, the Spaniards living there on the coast were almost as hungry as those who had survived the overland trek from Mexico City. Once again, Cortés began coercing the local Indians to promise to offer tribute in the form of food and other valuable goods. He used the settlement’s lone ship to send messages to the Caribbean seeking support.
