Correspondencia de los Virreyes 15 
inces usually belonged. Some of the volumes contain lists of correspondence 
directed by the viceroy to the officials of Florida and Louisiana. 
ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTS. 
Highly important are the documents which from time to time were filed 
with the minutes or copies of the despatches. They consist usually of copies 
of transmitted correspondence, or of state papers like viceroys’ instructions 
to their successors. They sometimes form appendixes to the volumes of 
despatches, but not infrequently constitute separate volumes. They may be 
in the form of simple copies (copias simples), certified copies (testimomios), 
duplicates, or originals. In a large number of instances it was the original of 
an important document which remained in Mexico, while the duplicate or a 
testimonio was sent to Spain. This is true of a large part of the reports from 
the Interior Provinces that are filed. Viewed in this light, the records in 
Mexico must frequently be of higher value than those in Spain, even where 
they cover the same points. In series I. the accompanying documents are not 
numerous before 1789 (vol. 21), while in series II. they are most numerous 
between 1770 and 1780 (vols. 20-125). Of special value on the Southwest 
are the monthly extracts (extractos) from the local reports of affairs in the 
Californias and other interior provinces, which were more or less regularly 
sent by the viceroy to the king during the period between 1770 and 1777. 
After the establishment, in 1777, of the commandancy-general of the Interior 
Provinces at Chihuahua, practically independent of the viceroy, the latter 
official’s correspondence suddenly lessens in value for the Interior Provinces. 
From that time forth we shall have to look to Spain or to the remains of the 
archives of the commandancy-general for some of the most important cor- 
respondence relating to the Southwest. 
INDEXES. 
Most of the volumes of all the series of this section have, besides the title- 
pages, which give general descriptions of the contents: (1) Indices, or anal- 
yses of the documents. These are not uniformly made, but they usually give 
the dates of the documents and references to them by number or by folio or 
both. In many cases these indices are the principales (principals) or the 
duplicados (duplicates) of those sent with the despatches to Spain. (2) 
Prontuarios, or briefer subject indexes, with references to the documents. 
either by number or by folio. Vol. 20 of series I. consists of a Prontuario 
General of most of the matter between 1789 and 1809." (3) In some cases. 
there are extractos reducidos, or analyses briefer than the indices but more 
detailed than the prontuarios. (4) Razones de cosas notables, or special 
memoranda of notable events. These interesting lists of course depend alto- 
gether upon the intelligence and view-point of their compilers. Toward the 
close of the eighteenth century there is a tendency for the indices, pron- 
tuarios, and other indexing apparatus to deteriorate in quality. For example, 
the earlier indices usually cite documents filed in the appendixes, while in the 
later volumes this is less often true. Some of the later volumes lack pron- 
tuarios altogether. 
* The prontuarios of vols. 136 and 137 have been interchanged by mistake, but this: 
is not true of their indices. 
