Book III 



[Of the Territory of the Circuit Court of Mexico, the Principal 

 One in New Spain ; in Which Are Described All the Provinces in 

 Its Jurisdiction ; the Country ; Its Characteristics ; Its Products ; 

 Some of the Indian Customs ; the Cities and Towns Founded by 

 the Spaniards ; the State and Municipal Administrations and Other 

 Offices Filled by His Majesty; the Religious Hierarchy; and the 

 Corregimientos and Alcaldias Mayores in the Viceroy's Appoint- 

 ment, together with Other Things Worthy of Mention and the Many 

 Silver Mines in Operation There.] 



Chapter I 



Of the Province of Yucatan, Its Fertility, and Other Noteworthy 

 Facts Concerning It. 



337. Sailing W. from Cuba, one passes into the Sound, which is 

 a shallow sea, where the fleets and ships headed for New Spain via 

 the port of San Juan de Ulloa and the city of Vera Cruz, fish with 

 hook and line and get quantities of porgies, since they abound in 

 those waters ; then they enter the Gulf of Mexico, leaving Florida 

 to the N. on the right, and having on the ESE. the Province of Yuca- 

 tan. This comprises within itself many provinces and tribes ; it is a 

 point of land jutting out over lOO leagues into the sea, from the 

 Gulf of Honduras side to Cape Catoche ; it is 130 leagues long NE. 

 to SW., across the tip of this country ; from Cape Catoche to Cape 

 Delgado it is 90 leagues across, E.^NE., W.^SW. From Cape Del- 

 gado along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, where the town of San 

 Francisco de Campeche is located, up to the Gulf of Tabasco, where 

 is located the town of Santa Maria de la Vitoria, it is 65 leagues 

 long, almost N. and S., and on this quarter from Tabasco to the 

 town of Salamanca, E. and W., it is 30 leagues wide, which is the 

 narrowest portion of this country. 



338. It is almost a peninsula, and level for the most part, rich in 

 woods and fruit plantations, but lacking rivers and water, for there 

 is none anywhere, although it is found immediately in wells. It con- 

 tains some low mountain ranges from Campeche to Champoton, and 

 in the midst of them there is a headland called the Morro de los 

 Diablos (Devils' Bluf^). A range crosses it from E. to W. from 

 Salamanca to Champoton, which divides Yucatan along the Rio 



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