From the Rica Villa de la Vera Cruz, on the tenth July, 1519.
Several large plumes of beautiful feathers, of various colours, spangled with gold and small pearls. Several fans; some of gold and feathers, others of feathers alone, but all very rich. A variety of cotton robes; some all white, others chequered white and black, or red, green, yellow, and blue, the outside being shaggy, and the inside smooth, without colour. A number of coats, handkerchiefs, bedcovers, tapestries, and carpets of cotton stuffs. There were several Mexican books, written in hieroglyphics, on their paper, which was about the consistency of light pasteboard. Peter Martyr describes them as folding tablets, and says of the writing, "Sunt characteres a nostris valde dissimilis, Egypteas fere formas æmulantur" (De Insults nuper inventis). Gomara says the paper was made of cotton, and a kind of gum, or paste; sometimes also of aloe leaves; Peter Martyr describes it as made of fine crushed bark, kneaded together with a gum.
