HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CONQUEST OF YUCATAN AND OF THE ITZAS

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Nohpek. "Suffering from the scarcity of water, we continued our way for
the space of three leagues farther, to a great _haltun_, or hollowed
stone, which held a great deal of water and which God willed that we
should find full. This place is called Nohpek. At the side of this
_haltun_ we found a _milpa_ well sown and provided with _chiles_, which
in the midst of our work served our hunger, so that, with a little
maize which we cooked, we had that day a cheerful meal; although to the
cheer there did not fail to be added a little bitterness; since in one
of the _ranchos_ where we lodged we found a tree which in that language
is called _Pomolche_. This produced a fruit of the same form as the
hazel nuts of Spain, as well in the shell as in the kernel, color,
smell, and taste. Curiosity led us to see if they were really hazel
nuts. We ate some of the kernels for some time, without finding any
difference. Therefore as quite a time passed in which there was no
effect other than what we expected, the Indians ate also, so as to
imitate us in everything. Eating the said kernels caused us some
thirst, giving us occasion to drink water, and we had scarcely drunk