In Helaman 11:20 it says that the people "began to multiply and spread, even until they did cover the whole face of the land, both on the northward and on the southward, from the sea west to the sea east." Once again, much like Helaman 4:7, the expression "from the sea west to the sea east" is used in connection with describing a total spreading of the people from sea to sea. [See the commentary of Helaman 4:7]
Helaman 11:25 Then they would retreat back into the mountains, and into the wilderness and secret places, hiding themselves ([Illustration]): Bandits would seek out for their bases inaccessible locations where they could be free from control measures by conventional society. The relation is illustrated in this picture from hills at the northerly end of the Central Depression of Chiapas. Major settlements lie in the river valley seen in the middle distance. [John L. Sorenson, Images of Ancient America, p. 118]