232 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 102 



50 live in the city itself. The houses are all built of straw and 

 bajareque, w^hich is wattlework of poles driven into the ground and 

 plastered with clay to form walls. There is a parish church and two 

 convents, Franciscan and Mercedarian, The city and all the country 

 round have a hot climate; there is much woods and pastureland. 

 Native fruits abound — bananas, papaws, jocotes, which correspond 

 to plums ; they get two crops of corn each year; most of the Indian 

 villages have cacao plantations and they get much honey and wax 

 in the woods. 



664. Three leagues N. of this city there are rich deposits of very 

 fine silver ore mixed with gold ; on this location they discovered 

 and are working rich mines which are called Marcilla because a man 

 of that name made the discovery and settlement. They have taken 

 large amounts of silver from this mine and would get much more if 

 there were labor or slaves available, for the mines are rich and have 

 a high yield per quintal. However, the little that the operators can 

 get out of the mines is of small significance for their luxurious mode 

 of life, for they are very rich. The locality where the mines are is 

 very suitable and gives evidence of wealth. The climate is springlike, 

 with bright skies and healthful breezes. 



665. Nine leagues to the S. of the city of San Miguel is the port 

 of Amapala on what they call the Bay of Fonseca, a large arm of 

 the sea running into the land. There is a splendid harbor here and 

 sometimes ships from Peru come here to load pitch and other local 

 products. Near the harbor lie some Indian villages with cacao 

 orchards or plantations ; there is another on an island in the harbor. 

 These villages all receive religious instruction from Franciscan friars. 

 This is hot country, with many groves and woods. Travelers for 

 the Province of Nicaragua usually cross this bay in canoes of the 

 Indians on the island, thus saving many leagues and much trouble ; 

 I myself, taking advantage of this economy, said Mass for the 

 Indians of the island on the day of Holy Trinity, 1613, and then 

 crossed the bay in 24 hours, coming out 5 leagues from the Indian 

 village of El Vie jo in the Province of Nicaragua, which is 3 leagues 

 from the port of Realejo. 



666. The city of San Miguel just mentioned is built on a plain 

 near the slopes of a tall volcano to its ESE. ; this volcano is likewise 

 well known to all navigators on the Pacific. It has erupted, and 

 erupts, much flame and ashes ; it is very handsome from a distance 

 for its size and its sugar-loaf appearance, though the top has been 

 considerably worn away by fire. Round about it are many Indian 

 villages and indigo laboratories ; wax, honey, and all sorts of native 



