The following appearance I beheld with my own eyes, which any one else might have seen if he had taken the trouble of looking up. In the year 1527 there appeared in the heavens a sign, which had the shape of a long sword, and seemed as if it stood between the province of Panuco and the town of Tezcuco, and remained unchanged in the heavens for the space of twenty days. The Mexicans and their papas declared it was a sign of some pestilence, and certainly a few days after the measles, and another eruptive disease, like leprosy, broke out, which was accompanied by a very nauseous smell, and carried off numbers of persons, though it did not prove so destructive as the smallpox.
In the year 1528 a very heavy rain fell in Guacasualco, with large clods of earth. But this phenomena differed from what had been seen before of the kind, for as soon as these clods touched the ground they turned into innumerable frogs, a little larger in size than the bluebottle fly. The earth was completely covered with these creatures, which hopped about in various directions, to gain the river, which was not far off. As, however, there were myriads of them, and the sun burning hot, numbers of them perished before they could reach the water. The birds of prey certainly devoured great numbers, yet many of them still remained on the ground, and soon turned putrid, spreading a most dreadful stench around.
I have likewise been assured by credible persons that similar showers of frogs fell at Sempoalla, in the neighbourhood of the sugar mills, belonging to the accountant Albornoz.
I should not have noticed this raining of frogs if it were not something of rare occurrence, a thing which the greater part of mankind never see; moreover, celebrated men have said a writer should only notice those things which are truly wonderful. I was also assured by a cavalier of distinction, who resides in the neighbourhood of this town, named Juan de Guzman, that he himself was once caught in a shower of this kind, on his journey through Yucatan. He assured me that a number of such small