WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES VAZQUEZ DE ESPINOSA 173 



as large as the Lake of Mexico ; there are many boats on it, which 

 take quantities of fish, among them a small variety like mackerel 

 (pejerreyes), which they dry in the sun and which are distributed 

 over many parts of this province. 



490. In this kingdom they speak four languages : The Tarasca, 

 which is their special language, and very elegant ; the Otomi, which 

 is pretty generally spoken ; the Chichimeca, and the Mexican. The 

 Otomi and Chichimeca languages are very obscure and hard to under- 

 stand. The Tarasca, characteristic of that region, is so called because 

 when the Spaniards came and settled in that kingdom, the chiefs 

 gave them their daughters, considering them so valiant and energetic, 

 and insisted on giving them to them, calling them Tarasque, which 

 is the same as son-in-law, and so that province got called that of 

 the Tarascos. The people are brave, diligent, and very intelligent. 

 The province has varieties of climate — cold, hot, and springlike — and 

 famous valleys and meadowlands, with streams of sweet crystal-clear 

 water running through them ; hot baths very beneficial for invalids ; 

 fertile fields which yield abundance of corn, wheat, and other cereals, 

 both native and Spanish ; there is plenty of pastureland, and in conse- 

 quence large cattle ranches with constantly increasing product ; sheep 

 from Castile, from whose wool they weave in the mills fine and 

 coarse woolen cloth, blankets, sombreros, etc. ; they raise also many 

 hogs. 



They have many kinds of native fruit, and among them, the capulies, 

 which are like the mazard cherries of Spain ; they bear abundantly. 

 All our varieties bear well also, thanks to the excellent nature of the 

 soil ; the same is true of garden truck and vegetables. They have many 

 plantations of sugarcane, with their mills and grinding machines, 

 with which they make quantities of syrup and sugar; with that and 

 the fruit they put up many kinds of delicious preserves. In these 

 provinces they have valuable hard timber, which the Tarasco Indians, 

 who are very ingenious and accurate carpenters, work up into writing 

 desks, ornamental ink stands, and other great curiosities ; they work 

 not only in wood but in paintings of featherwork, done with great 

 dexterity and neatness, with feathers from the [many] beautiful 

 birds of various colors which they have in this province, and in par- 

 ticular from a tiny bird which the Indians utilize for their feather 

 paintings, because it has such unusual colors. This little bird is called 

 vicisilin, and is a natural curiosity. It flies about for 6 months of 

 the year — spring and summer — and when it recognizes the approach 

 of winter, it drives its bill into a certain tree and remains imbedded 

 there all winter without eating and immovable as though dead ; but 



