WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES VAZQUEZ DE ESPINOSA 24I 



originally was in the city and port of Trujillo, up to the year 1558, 

 when it was transferred to this city. There are two convents here, 

 a Franciscan and a Mercedarian ; a hospital, and other churches and 

 shrines. 



693. The climate of this valley and city is like spring all the year. 

 It abounds in corn, wheat, kidney beans, and other cereals and vege- 

 tables, both native and of Spanish sorts. A river runs through this 

 valley and on its banks there are many ranches of cattle, sheep, hogs, 

 horses, and mules ; they have quantities of fruit of both Spanish 

 and native varieties. The city has Royal Officials who take turns 

 going down to the port of Trujillo every year for the clearance of the 

 ships arriving from Spain for Guatemala and those provinces with 

 wine and merchandise, to load local products in great quantities. His 

 Majesty, in consultation with the Supreme Council of the Indies, 

 appoints a Governor and Captain General for the administration of 

 justice. 



694. When the Spaniards took possession of these provinces, they 

 were first called Las Higueras, because when they came sailing there 

 they found along the coast quantities of calabashes or gourds (jicaras) 

 of the calabash tree, which is abundant in those provinces ; and since 

 they called them higueras (fig trees) in Santo Domingo, they gave 

 this name to this province ; but the only name that has stuck is 

 Honduras, because all that coast is very deep water (hondable), and 

 the Spaniards who came out to conquer those provinces found no 

 bottom on sounding, even when they were close to land, until they 

 got into port ; once there, they said "Blessed be God, who has brought 

 us out of those deep waters (honduras)," and so that name became 

 attached to these provinces and persists there. 



695. These provinces were thickly peopled with Indians, but their 

 internecine wars, and those with the Spaniards, destroyed the greater 

 part of them. The whole country is much broken up with tall moun- 

 tain ranges ; in between them lie fertile and attractive valleys, and 

 the crystal-clear rivers running through them carry sand with grains 

 of gold, since there is much there : this is especially true of the Rio 

 de Guayape, which is near the Olancho Valley and the rich Province 

 of Tegucigalpa ; in the early days they took great wealth of gold out 

 of this river. 



696. The district of this Diocese contains many provinces and 

 villages of Indians, and cities with Spaniards. That of Gracias a Dios 

 lies almost west of Valladolid or Comayagua some 30 leagues, mid- 

 way on the Guatemala highway. It was founded by Capt. Gabriel 

 de Rojas in the year 1530 on a bluff in a strong position, for warfare 



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