WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES — VAZQUEZ DE ESPINOSA 26l 



Indies, and others. Masaya is 5 leagues from Granada; 6 leagues 

 farther, and 2 from the lake, rises the great volcano of Mombacho, 

 which has thrown out much flame and ashes, and still does ; it is 

 one of the largest and highest in that country. On its slopes and 

 in its circuit there are many fruit orchards and pleasure groves and 

 cacao plantations ; the cacao is the best and largest variety in all those 

 provinces, all of which belong to the district of this Corregimiento. 

 All the Corregimientos of this province are under the jurisdiction 

 of the Governor of Nicaragua, jointly with the Corregidores. 



749. The Laguna Grande is over 80 leagues in circumference (and 

 at Nicaragua de Los Indios it is only 3 leagues distant from the 

 Pacific, and the land is level; but it empties into the Atlantic). 

 On the other side of the lake is the Province of Los Chontales, whose 

 capital is the Indian village of Sebaco, whose Corregidor is appointed 

 by the President of the Circuit Court of Guatemala. In this province 

 they plant and gather great quantities of tobacco and other valuable 

 crops for which these provinces are none the poorer. The Indians 

 here are the most unsophisticated of all those provinces, to such a 

 degree that in the other provinces when they want to call someone 

 an offensive name, they tell him he is a Chontal, which amounts to 

 saying he is a dumb animal. 



Chapter XXXI 



Of the Provinces of Costa Rica and Its Government, and of the 

 Alcaldia Mayor of the Port of Nicoya. 



750. Before tracing the description of the Provinces of Nicoya, 

 Costa Rica, and Cartago, which form the remainder of the Diocese 

 of Nicaragua, it will be well to note in passing the clothing of the 

 Indians in these provinces. These Indians are quite civilized, and 

 their clothing and styles are those of the Spaniards ; they use cotton 

 cloth, either white or dyed black ; great quantities are manufactured 

 in this province. The Indian women dress like those in New Spain, 

 except that on their heads they wear a kind of black cotton hood, 

 like the cowls of tertiary friars, peaked in front and behind. Most 

 of the Indian men wear palm-leaf hats. 



751. The great majority of the provinces in the Indies, both in 

 New Spain, the New Kingdom of Granada, and Peru, lie within 

 the Tropics and about the Equator ; thus the days and nights are 

 equally long, with only slight differences. For the same reason their 

 climate has little variation and is even in temperature. They are 

 exceedingly fertile ; so there is fruit on the trees the whole year 

 through ; they get two crops of corn and other cereals. 



