514 THE CORONADO EXPEDITION, 1540-1542 [eth.aijh.14 



whom they marry, of their fathers ami relatives at a high price, aud 

 then to take them to a chief, who is considered to be a priest, to deflower 

 them and see if she is a virgin; and if she is not, they have to return 

 the whole price, and he can keep her for his wife or not, or let her be 

 consecrated, as he chooses. At these times they all get drunk. 



The second language is that of the Pacaxes, the people who live in 

 the country between the plains and the mountains. These people are 

 more barbarous. Some of them w T ho live near the mountains eat human 

 flesh.' They are great sodomites, and have many wives,, even when 

 these are sisters. They worship painted and sculptured atones, and are 

 much given to witchcraft and sorcery. . 



The third language is that of the Acaxes, who are in possession of a 

 large part of the hilly country and all of the mountains They go hunt- 

 ing for men just as they hunt animals. They all eat human flesh, aud 

 he who has the most human bones aud skulls hung up around his house 

 is most feared and respected. They live in settlements aud in very 

 rough country, avoiding the plains. In passing from one settlement to 

 another, there is always a ravine in the way which they can not cross, 

 although they can talk together across it. 2 At the slightest call 500 meu 

 collect, and on any pretext kill and eat one another. Thus it has been 

 very hard to subdue these people, on account of the roughness of the 

 country, which is very great. 



Many rich silver mines have beeu found in this country. They do 

 not run deep, but soon give out. The gulf of the sea begins on the coast 

 of this province, entering the land 250 leagues toward the north aud 

 ending at the mouth of the Firebrand (Tizon) river. This country 

 forms its eastern limit, and California the western. From what I have 

 been told by men who had navigated it, it is 30 leagues across from point 

 to point, because they lose sight of this country when they see the other. 

 They say the gulf is over 150 leagues broad (or deep), from shore to 

 shore. The coast makes a turn toward the south at the Firebrand river, 

 bending down to California, which turns toward the west, forming that 

 peninsula which was formerly held to be an island, because it was a low 

 sandy country. It is inhabited by brutish, bestial, naked people who 

 eat their own offal. The meu and women couple like animals, the female 

 openly getting down on all fours. 



Chapter .2, of the jwovince of Petlatlan and all the inhabited country as 

 far as Chichilticalli. 



Petlatlan is a settlement of houses covered with a sort of mats made 

 of plants. 3 These are collected into villages, extending along a river 

 from the mountains to the sea. The people are of the same race and 



'Omitted by Ternaux, who (p. 151) calls these the Pacaaas. 



'* Compare the Spanish text. Ternaux (p. 152) renders : ' 'Us out soin de batir leura villages de nianirre 

 a ce qu'ils soient separea les uns des autrea par dea ravina impossibles a franchir," which is perhaps 

 i he meaning of the Spanish. 



3 Ternaux, p. 156 : "couvertea en nattes de glaieul." The Spanish manuscript is very obscure. 



