ars made distinguished
achievements in some branches of science, particularly medicine and
surgery, but pre-eminently linguistics, history and anthropology.
Dictionaries and grammars of the native languages and histories of
the Mexican institutions are an imposing proof of their scholarly
devotion and intellectual activity. Conspicuous are Toribio de
Motolinia's '_Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espana,_' Duran's
'_Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espana_' but most important of all
Sahagun's great work on Mexican life and religion."

Indeed, it is with regard to science in various forms that one finds
the most surprising contributions from these old-time scholars. While
the English in America were paying practically no attention to
science, the Spaniards were deeply interested in it. Dr. Chanca, a
physician who had been for several years physician-in-ordinary to the
King and Queen (Ferdinand and Isabella) and was looked upon as one of
the leaders of his profession in Spain, was appointed by the Crown to
accompany Columbus on his second expedition, partly for the sake of
the health of those who went, but also in order to make scientific
notes on American subjects. The report {494} of this scientific
excursion is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the state of
science of the time and furnishes precious information with regard to
Indian medicine, Indian customs, Spanish knowledge of and interest in
botany and metallurgy, as well as certain phases of zoology and other
scientific departments, which serves to show how wide was the training
in science of this Spanish physician of over four hundred years ago.
Dr. Chanca's epistle was republished as one of the Miscellaneous
Publications of the Smithsonian Institution and a series of articles
with regard to him from the pen of Dr. Fernandez de Ybarra has
appeared in medical and other journals of the United States. Chanca is
the author of a medical work on the Treatment of Pleurisy, published
after his return in 1506, and a commentary on Arnold of Villanova's
_De conservanda juventute et retardanda senectute_, "The Conservation
of Youth and the Retardation of Old Age." Such a work is all the more
interesting at this time because we know of De Soto's search for a
"Fountain of Youth" in Florida and the popular belief in the
existence of some such fabled miracle-worker for the old. Indeed most
people seem inclined to think that such an idea represented very
c