The Jucatan Indians are a most willing, obliging, meek temper’d people; very laborious; of midling stature, and well featur’d: their hair strait and black, but cut short, except a lock on each side their temple, which they are constrained to wear as a badge of subjection to the Spanish monarchy. Their dress is a kind of short frock, reaching to the waist, and trowsers; a straw hat, and sandals: but when they travel, they proceed quite naked, except a cloth to hide their privities. They are very active and dexterous in the woods with their muschalls, an instrument something between a knife and a cleaver, with which they clear away the bush in the woods, dress their meat, and use it as an instrument of offence on occasion.

The women are, in general, short and thick set, with agreeable countenances; their hair black, which they generally wear club’d behind; and those near Merida, with a pink ribband: they go bare leg’d, with a short cotton petticoat, which they adorn about the bottom, with flowers of various colours, in needlework: as also their frocks, in the same manner, round the bosoms. These are always made of cotton, of their own spinning and weaving: the frock reaches only to the upper part of the petticoat, but this they throw off when employ’d on any domestick business, going naked to the waist.

The police of each of these towns, is managed by the following officers, whose titles I am better acquainted with than their office: they are always of the best repute, and fair character; elderly men of the town, and have great respect shewn them by the Indians: they stand in rank as I here name them, the Cazique, Teniente, Alcaldi, and Fiscal; who reside at what is called the king’s house, and adjust all civil causes: they are distinguished by several badges; the Alcaldi wearing a square blue cloth embroidered at the corners, hung to his left shoulder. The Teniente, a wand, with a cross at the top of it. The Fiscal wears a key, and a kind of cat with three tails, being by office both the prison-keeper, and executor of punishment. These badges of his offices he always wears to his waist, hung to a sash round his body. They have in each of these houses, a serivan, or clerk, who minutes the arrival and departure of expresses going to or from Merida, or from any of the towns in the province.

Their towns are poor, mean huts, built with stakes of Palmeta, (which they chuse for their straitness) and thatched, with the leaves to the ground, resembling a large beehive. They have no upper room, no more than the provincial Spaniards, and like them, sleep all in their grass hammocks, as they are called, though they are made of the thready fibres of the leaves from the aloe-tree, in the same manner as hemp is got from the stalk; they just throw a cotton cloth over them; and when travelling, if night overtakes them, they sleep in these hammocks, hung between two trees; never neglecting however, to make a good wood fire close to their hammocks. Their diet is very simple, being no more than a maize cake, and a little pasoli to drink; a liquor made of the meal of the maize, left in water till it ferments, and grows four: this generally they sweeten with honey, of which they find great plenty in the woods.

Their principal employment is the cultivation of the plantations; they train their children to the practice of the bow and arrow; and with which they kill their game, not being permitted to use fire arms.

FINIS.

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