would have served them to the best of their ability; and the caciques were very pleased and contented both with what the said captain had told them on the part of Your Royal Highnesses, and with the many ornaments he had given them; and I am confident that any Spaniards who from henceforward shall arrive at Cozumel will be as well received there as in any of those Islands which have been long since settled. The said Island is small, and there is no creek or river in it, and all the water which the Indians drink is from wells, and there are only rocks, and stones, and mountains. The only trade which the Indians have is in bee-hives, and our Procurators will bear to Your Highnesses specimens of the honey and the bee-hives that you may command them to be examined.[1]
Be it known to Your Majesties, that the Captain exhorted the caciques of the said Island, admonishing them to renounce the heathen sect in which they were living, and, when they asked him to give them a law according to which they might henceforth live, the said Captain instructed them as best he could in the Catholic Faith. He left them also a cross of wood in a lofty house, and an image of Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, making them understand perfectly well what they were obliged to do to become good Christians; and they showed that they received everything with the best will, and thus they were left contented and happy.
After leaving the Island, we went to Yucatan, and, continuing towards the north, we kept in sight of land, until we arrived at the great river called Grijalba (Rio
- ↑ Clavigero notices six different varieties of bees in Mexico, some like those common in Europe, and others without stings, which make the honey "Estabentun," the clearest, sweetest, and most aromatic known. These bees are found in Yucatan, and Chiapa, and it is doubtless their honey which is here mentioned. It was collected every two months, but the November honey was the best, because it was made from a very sweet flower called "Estabentun," which blooms in September.
