s possible, then, that
Villagutierre copied (not to say plagiarized) the work of Cogolludo
without giving credit for it. But the important point for us in this
matter does not concern the personal integrity of Villagutierre. Rather
does the importance of the matter lie in this: if Villagutierre was
acquainted with the history of Yucatan by Cogolludo to such a degree
that he frequently borrowed whole phrases from it, he must have had a
very good reason for diverging widely now and again from the version of
events given by Cogolludo. Such a reason could only be supplied by the
fact that Villagutierre possessed information which he regarded as
superior to and more official than that of Cogolludo. Therefore, since
in several instances (as in his account of the events leading up to the
visit of Cortes to Tayasal) Villagutierre occasionally departs from the
footsteps of Cogolludo, we may safely assume that he was at once more
critical and better informed than the latter, whom, however, he valued
enough to be willing to draw from his work much of his information and
even some of his phraseology.

The virtues and defects of Avendano and of Cano are less subtle; so
much so, indeed, that it would be absurd to attempt a criticism of them
here. The reader will have ample opportunity to see their qualities for
himself in the body of the book.

A word as to the method adopted in translating is in order. In the
various passages taken from Cogolludo and Villagutierre I have
preserved the spelling and capitalization of proper names that appear
in the text. All passages from Avendano and Cano are from the
translations made by Mr. Bowditch and Sr. Rivera.

All the other works used are so well known that comment on them is
superfluous.

Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to Mr. Bowditch and to Dr.
Tozzer, both of whom have spent much time and thought in going over the
manuscript of this work. Among the others who have shown me kindness
and courtesy during the preparation of this study are Mr. Putnam of the
Library of Congress; Dr. George Byron Gordon of the University Museum,
Philadelphia; Professor Holmes of the United States National Museum;
Dr. Edward Luther Stevenson of the Hispanic Society of America, New
York; and, lastly, my mother, Mrs. James Means. These and others have
generously given me much of their time and information.

PHILIP AINSWORTH MEANS

February 23, 1917