marked out and determined for you to become Christians, so also are the times determined for me to die for love of him; and if it were left in your hands, as you think, and say such things, you would have carried it out, or the devil Pakoc (this is an idol who speaks to them very frequently) whom you adore and who dictates such things to you; but here you shall know how slight is his strength in my presence, since he only dares to speak of it to you and not to come and execute it upon me. And I do not know (notwithstanding the great arrogance you show) what victory there can be in so many of your armed men here, killing so unjustly and without notice a few men like us, who, moved solely by love of you, intend without any arms, but for your own good, to take you out of the slavery in which you stand. In short here I am; I know not what prevents you from carrying out what you say.' With this, since it was late at night, they withdrew, and I with the King and the rest of the priests remained discussing the agreement which we had made.
Discussion with Canek and Others. “On the next day, after performing baptisms on some who came to me, talking with the King and some of the caciques of the other Petens or islands and other priests, who stayed with us continually, we discussed at our leisure various matters which came up. I asked them what products they had for their food and clothing, and they told me that they had a great deal of maize, beans, seeds, peppers, and that they sowed all this two or three times in the year; also many plantains and chunes, which are like the chayotes, though without thorns; some cacao (though but little), vanilla, and in some orchards enclosed with stakes in their homes, some wild cabbage. I did not see these nor the onions, which, however, the singers who accompanied me told me that they had seen;[1] there is a great deal of cotton, cochineal, and indigo, which accounts for the abundance of clothing which they have and give to the Cehaches Indians, and those from Tipu in barter for hatchets and machetes; and all this woven very neatly, in a variety of colors of cotton thread; the said clothing is very durable, since it is like felt, although the colors
- ↑ A gloss reads “varias cosas que tratamos.”
