ation.

The natives generally seen here are corpulent, not quite black nor
mulatto. Their hair is frizzled. They have good eyes. They cover their
parts with certain cloths they weave. They are clean, fond of festivities
and dancing to the sound of flute and drums made of a hollow piece of
wood. They use shells also for musical instruments, and in their dances
make great shouting at the advances, balances, and retreats. They were
not known to use the herb.*

[* Betel.]

Their arms are heavy wooden clubs, and bows of the same, arrows of reed
with wooden points, hardened in the fire, darts with pieces of bone
enclosed.

Their interments are covered. We saw some enclosed burial grounds with
oratories and carved figures, to which they make offerings. It is, to all
appearance, a courageous and sociable people, but without care for the
ills of their neighbours; for they saw some fighting with us without
coming to help them.

The houses are of wood, covered with palm-leaves, with two sloping sides
to the roof, and with a certain kind of outhouse, where they keep their
food. All their things are kept very clean.

They also have flower-pots with small trees of an unknown kind. The
leaves are very soft, and of a yellow-reddish colour.

The bread they use is mainly of roots, whose young shoots climb on poles,
which are put near them for that purpose.* The rind is grey, the pulp
murrey colour, yellow, or reddish; some much larger than others. There
are some a yard and a half in thickness, also two kinds; one almost
round, and the size of two fists, more or less. Their taste resembles the
potatoes of Peru. The inside of the other root is white, its form and
size that of a cob of maize when stripped. All these kinds have a pulp
without fibres, loose, soft, and pleasant to the taste. These roots are
bread made without trouble, there being nothing to do but to take them
out of the earth, and eat them, roast or boiled. They are very good
cooked in pots. Our people ate a great deal; and, being of a pleasant
taste and satisfying, they left off the ship's biscuit for them. These
roots last so long without getting bad, that on reaching Acapulco those
that were left were quite good.

[* The Kumara, or sweet potato, and yams.]

Their meat consists of a great quantity of tame pigs, some reddish,
others black, white, or speckled. We saw tusks 11/4 _palmos_ in length, and
a porker was killed weighing 200 lbs. The natives roast them on