another larger stream, called Nohucum; at half a league farther on, a great aguada called Akalcay. Two leagues and a half on the right is found a great pond, called Yavilain; another two leagues and a half from there is an aguada called Chuncopo. This is an accidental aguada in the middle of the road, which has abundance of water in the rainy season, from its being in the midst of low hills and akalchees. Beyond this place is a great ravine, which in this language is called nohem. It is about a league and a half [long]. This ravine they call the 'Hell of the Ytzaes' from the danger of its descent, on account of its being necessary that the road should go through it, though we passed many others which are more dangerous and worse than this ravine. On account of the impossibility of the passage which they had described to us, it being necessary to pass through it, so as to carry out our special undertaking and in order to accomplish it the better and to facilitate the passage, we chose as its patron Saint our Padre San Antonio of Padua, by whose intercession, without doubt, the passage of the said ravine became much easier for us than they had described to us up to this time; we did not fail to pass over some hard hills and rough roads, but from here they were the worst of all I had seen up to this time.
The Hardships of the Journey. “Two leagues from this ravine we began to hesitate about the road, because we met with a large river, although it was then dry; but in the rainy season, it is plainly seen, it carries a great mass of water. On account of this we found a variety of passages and Batchees, but, thanks to God and good fortune, in the courses of this dry river, which is called Cohucum, we recognized some mud or signs of earth among its pebbles, so that by following this sign for a long distance, we not only came across, in a bend of the river, a spring of water, to satisfy our need of drinking which we already felt, but also we recognized on its banks the Batchee and the lost path, so that at one time we had two consolations. We slept there, though it was very early when we reached there, for fear of the scarcity of water, which we had already experienced. But in the morning we had occasion in a short time to be vexed at so much water, since at a short dis-
