68 COLUMBIAN HISTORICAL EXPOSITION AT MADRID. 



document by the early missionary, Motolinia, explains the method by 

 which the Indians were accustomed to pay tribute previous to the 

 Conquest. Another, which was written on maguey paper and in hiero 

 glyphics, describes the town of Azcapuzala, not far from Mexico, at 

 the time it was visited by the licentiate Sandoval. A manuscript of 

 forty-nine pages, by the licentiate Quinones, describes the numerous 

 towns which he visited in New Spain, and the customs and usages 

 which he found among them. 



It is evident that the efforts of the celebrated Bishop Las Casas to 

 improve the condition of the Indians met with violent opposition even 

 from his fellow missionaries, for we find a letter from the devoted Moto 

 linia to the King describing in amplitude what he calls the errors and 

 false statements of the bishop; and this is but one of a number of docu 

 ments in this collection, directed against the &quot; apostle of the Indies&quot; on 

 account of his fearless exposure of the brutality of the Spaniards and 

 the pastors sent to take care of these flocks. That he was quite correct 

 in his statements is also evident from many pieces in this collection ; 

 for instance, one from the town of Tenayuca, which is accompanied by 

 drawings and paintings made by the Indians themselves, representing 

 some of the cruelties to which they had been subjected. 



Some curious specimens were shown of playing cards manufactured 

 in the City of Mexico in the year 1583. They offered a combination of 

 European and native American characteristics. 



The Territory of Florida is the subject of a number of documents 

 describing its geographical election, rivers, towns, soil, and ports. A 

 series of original manuscripts of the expedition of Ferdinand de Soto, 

 and letters from the early governor, Aviles, are all of much interest to 

 the historian of that State. Some of these have been published at 

 various times, but several of them have not yet been printed. 



In the same department Avere preserved numerous interesting orig 

 inals and copies bearing upon the early history of Guatemala, Panama, 

 Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Quito, New Granada, the Eio de la Plata, and 

 America in general. Several of these would appear to contain much 

 valuable ethnographic information; such as that by Francisco de 

 Toledo (No. 272), which includes the answers of a number of natives 

 obtained through interpreters as to the idolatry in use in Peru before 

 the Conquest, the methods of burial, and the customs of the indigenous 

 inhabitants. 



A curiosity is the original manuscript of the second and third books 

 of the General History of the Indies composed by Las Casas ; another 

 is the Bull of Paul III, ordering that the Indians be instructed in the 

 Catholic religion, and forbidding them to be sold or considered as 

 slaves. It would appear from Nos. 370, 371, 373, and others, that the 

 histories written by Gomara, Las Casas, and Sahagun met with very 

 serious opposition when in the manuscript stage from the official cen 

 sors of the press ; for which reason, doubtless, the two last named 

 never saw the light in print during the Spanish domination. 



