_Narrative of Mr. PIKE'S Journey from Santa Fe to Montelovez._
Mr. Pike and his men were escorted from Santa Fe by a Spanish officer,
and a troop of soldiers. On Thursday, the 5th of March, they arrived at
a village called _St. Domingo_. The inhabitants of this place were about
a thousand in number; and the chiefs were distinguished by canes, with
silver heads and black tassels. Mr. Pike was permitted to visit the
church; and he was much astonished to find, enclosed in mud-brick walls,
many rich paintings, and a statue of the patron saint, as large as life,
and elegantly ornamented with gold and silver.
On the ensuing day, the party marched down the eastern side of the Rio
del Norte, the snow being still a foot deep. Near the village of
_Albuquerque_, they observed that the inhabitants were beginning to open
the canals, for the purpose of letting in the water of the river, to
fertilize the lands. They saw men, women, and children engaged in the
joyful labour, which was to crown, with rich abundance, their future
harvest, and to ensure them plenty for the ensuing year. A little below
Albuquerque, the Rio del Norte was four hundred yards wide, but not more
than three feet deep.
In their journey southward, they passed through several villages. One of
these, called _Sibilleta_, was in the form of a regular square,
appearing, on the outside, like an immense mud-wall. All the doors and
windows faced the interior of the square; and it was the neatest and
most regular village Mr. Pike had ever seen.
Beyond this village, the party met a caravan, consisting of three
hundred men, escorted by an officer and thirty-five or forty troops, who
were proceeding, with about fifteen thousand sheep, to the different
provinces. They afterwards met a caravan of fifty men, and about two
hundred horses, laden with traffic, for New Mexico. On the 21st of March
they arrived at the _Passo del Norte_: the road now led them through a
rough and mountainous country; and passing through _Carracal_, and some
other villages, they reached _Chihuahua_ on the 2d of April.
They were conducted into the presence of the commanding-officer of the
place, before whom Mr. Pike underwent an examination, as he had
previously done at Santa Fe. He was treated with great apparent respect,
and was offered both assistance and money. He afterwards visited in the
houses of some of the principal inhabitants. At the house of the
governor, when wine was put on the table, after dinner, the company was
entertained with songs in the French, Italian, Spanish, and English
languages.
There are, at Chihuahua, and in its vicinity, fifteen mines; thirteen of
silver, one of gold, and one of copper; the furnaces for all of which
are in the suburbs of the town, and present, except on Sundays, volumes
of smoke, rising in every direction. Chihuahua is surrounded by piles of
cinders, from ten to fifteen feet in height. In the public square, stand
the church, the royal treasury, the town-house, and the richest shops;
and, at the western extremity of the town, are two other churches, an
hospital, and the military academy. About a mile south of the town, is a
large aqueduct. The principal church of Chihuahua is a most superb
edifice: its whole front is covered with statues of saints; figures of
different saints are set in niches of the wall; and the windows, doors,
&c. are ornamented with sculpture. The decorations in the interior are
said to be immensely rich. On the south of the town is a public walk,
formed by three rows of trees, the branches of which nearly form a
junction over the heads of the passengers below. At different distances,
there are seats for persons to repose themselves upon; and at each end
of the walks, are circular seats, on, which, in the evenings, the
inhabitants amuse themselves in singing to the music of guitars. This
city contains about eleven thousand inhabitants.
After a residence, in Chihuahua, of somewhat more than three weeks, Mr.
Pike received an intimation that he and his men would be escorted out of
the country. Accordingly, on the 28th of April, he was accompanied,
towards the frontier, by a Spanish officer. Near Chihuahua they passed a
small ridge of mountains, and then encamped in a hollow. At the distance
of about fifty miles they reached the river _Florida_; on the banks of
which are many important settlements, and well-timbered lands. One of
the plantations on this river, extended thirty leagues; and had been
valued at three hundred thousand dollars.
The country through which they now passed was mountainous. On the 11th
of May, they reached _Mauperne_, a village situated at the foot of the
mountains, and near which eight or nine valuable copper-mines were
worked; but the mass of the people were in a starving and wretched
state. The proprietor of the mines, however, gave the travellers an
elegant repast.
They pursued their march three miles further, to a station, on a little
stream, which flowed through gardens, and formed a terrestrial paradise.
Here they remained all day, and at night slept under the shade of the
fig-trees. In the morning, Mr. Pike was awakened by the singing of the
birds, and the perfume of the trees around. This place, however, was no
doubt rendered the more interesting to the travellers, in consequence of
their having previously suffered much inconvenience from want of water.
On the 20th, they arrived at the _Hacienda of Polloss_, a handsome
place, at which the Marquis de San Miguel, a wealthy nobleman, who
possessed extensive property in this part of New Spain, usually passed
the summer. The Hacienda of Polloss is a square enclosure of about three
hundred feet: the building is no more than one story high; but some of
the apartments are very elegantly furnished. In the centre of the square
is a fountain, which throws out water from eight spouts. There is also,
at this place, a handsome church, which, with its ornaments, is said to
have cost at least twenty thousand dollars. The inhabitants are about
two thousand in number.
_Montelovez_, situated on the banks of a small stream, is about a mile
in length. It has two public squares, seven churches, some
powder-magazines, mills, a royal hospital, and barracks. The number of
inhabitants is about three thousand five hundred. This city is
ornamented with public walks, columns, and fountains; and is one of the
handsomest places in New Spain[3].
South-west from Montelovez stands _Durango_, the chief city of the
province of Biscay. In the vicinity of this place are many rich and
valuable mines; and the soil is so fertile as to produce abundant crops
of wheat, maize, and fruit. The climate is mild and healthy. Durango
contains about twelve thousand inhabitants; and has four convents and
three churches.
_A Description of the City of Mexico._
This magnificent city is the capital of New Spain, and the residence of
the viceroy. In its _situation_ it possesses many important advantages.
Standing on an isthmus, which is washed on one side by the Atlantic
Ocean, and on the other by the South-sea, it might possess a powerful
influence over the political events which agitate the world. A king of
Spain, resident at this capital, might, in six weeks, transmit his
orders to Europe, and, in three weeks, to the Philippine islands in
Asia. There are, however, difficulties to be encountered, arising from
the unfavourable state of the coasts, and the want of secure harbours.
During several months in the year, these coasts are visited by tempests.
The hurricanes, also, which occur in the months of September, October,
and March, and which sometimes last for three or four successive days,
are very tremendous.
Mexico was originally founded in the lake of Tezcuco; and, at the time
when the Spaniards first invaded America, it was a magnificent capital.
Cortez, describing it in the year 1520, says, that it was in the midst
of a salt-water lake, which had its tides, like the ocean; and that,
from the city to the continent, there was a distance of two leagues.
Four dikes or embankments, each two lances broad, led to the city. The
principal streets were narrow: some of them had navigable canals running
along them, furnished with bridges, wide enough for ten men on
horseback, to pass at the same time. The market-place was surrounded
with an immense portico, under which were sold all sorts of merchandise,
eatables, ornaments made of gold, silver, lead, pewter, precious stones,
bones, shells, and feathers; earthenware, leather, and spun cotton. In
some places were exposed to sale hewn stone, tiles, and timber for
building; in others game; and, in others, roots, garden-stuff, and
fruit. There were houses where barbers shaved the head, with razors made
of obsidian, a volcanic substance not much unlike bottle-glass; and
there were others, resembling our apothecary-shops, where prepared
medicines, unguents, and plasters were sold. The market abounded with so
many things, that Cortez was unable to name them all. To avoid
confusion, every species of merchandise was sold in a separate place. In
the middle of the great square was a house, which he calls
_L'Audiencia_; and in which ten or twelve persons sate every day, to
determine any disputes which might arise respecting the sale of goods.
The city was divided into four _quarters_: this division is still
preserved, in the limits assigned to the quarters of St. Paul, St.
Sebastian, St. John, and St. Mary; and the present streets have, for the
most part, the same direction as the old ones. But what gives to this
city a peculiar and distinctive character is, that it is entirely on the
continent, between the extremities of the two lakes of Tezcuco and
Chalco. This has been occasioned by the gradual draining of the great
lake, and the consequent drying up of the waters around the city. Hence
Mexico is now two miles and half from the banks of the former, and five
miles and half from those of the latter.
Adorned with numerous _teocallis_, (or temples,) like so many Mahometan
steeples, surrounded with water and embankments, founded on islands
covered with verdure, and receiving, hourly, in its streets, thousands
of boats, which vivified the lake, the ancient Mexico, according to the
accounts of the first conquerors, must have resembled some of the cities
of Holland, China, or the Delta of Lower Egypt.
As reconstructed by the Spaniards, it exhibits, at the present day,
perhaps a less vivid, though a more august and majestic appearance, than
the ancient city. With the exception of Petersburg, Berlin,
Philadelphia, and some quarters of Westminster, there does not exist a
place of the same extent, which can be compared to the capital of New
Spain, for the uniform level of the ground on which it stands, for the
regularity and breadth of the streets, and the extent of its public
places. The architecture is, for the most part, in a pure style; and
many of the edifices are of a very beautiful structure. The exterior of
the houses is not loaded with ornaments. Two sorts of hewn stone, give
to the Mexican buildings an air of solidity, and sometimes even of
magnificence. There are none of those wooden balconies and galleries to
be seen, which so much disfigure all the European cities in both the
Indies. The balustrades and gates are all of iron, ornamented with
bronze; and the houses, instead of roofs, have terraces, like those in
Italy, and other southern countries of the old continent.
Mexico has, of late, received many additional embellishments. An
edifice, for the School of Mines, which was built at an expence of more
than L.120,000 sterling, would adorn the principal places of Paris or
London. Two great palaces have been constructed by Mexican artists,
pupils of the Academy of Fine Arts. One of these has a beautiful
interior, ornamented with columns.
But, notwithstanding the progress of the arts, within the last thirty
years, it is much less from the grandeur and beauty of the monuments,
than from the breadth and straightness of the streets; and much less
from its edifices, than from its uniform regularity, its extent and
position, that the capital of New Spain attracts the admiration of
Europeans. M. De Humboldt had successively visited, within a very short
space of time, Lima, Mexico, Philadelphia, Washington, Paris, Rome,
Naples, and the largest cities of Germany; and notwithstanding
unavoidable comparisons, of which several might be supposed
disadvantageous to the capital of Mexico, there was left on his mind, a
recollection of grandeur, which he principally attributed to the
majestic character of its situation, and the beauty of the surrounding
scenery.
In fact, nothing can present a more rich and varied appearance than the
_valley of Mexico_, when, in a fine summer morning, a person ascends one
of the towers of the cathedral, or the adjacent hill of Chapoltepec. A
beautiful vegetation surrounds this hill. From its summit, the eye
wanders over a vast plain of richly-cultivated fields, which extend to
the very feet of colossal mountains, that are covered with perpetual
snow, The city appears as if washed by the waters of the lake of
Tezcuco, whose basin, surrounded by villages and hamlets, brings to mind
the most beautiful lakes of the mountains of Switzerland. Large avenues
of elms and poplars lead, in every direction, to the capital; and two
aqueducts, constructed over arches of great elevation, cross the plain,
and exhibit an appearance equally agreeable and interesting.
Mexico is remarkable for its excellent police. Most of the _streets_
have broad pavements; and they are clean, and well lighted. Water is,
every where, to be had; but it is brackish, like the water of the lake.
There are, however, two _aqueducts_, by which the city receives
fresh-water, from distant springs. Some remains of the _dikes_ or
_embankments_, are still to be seen: they, at present, form great paved
causeys, across marshy ground; and, as they are considerably elevated,
they possess the double advantage, of admitting the passage of
carriages, and restraining the overflowings of the lake. This city has
six principal _gates_; and is surrounded by a ditch, but is without
walls.
The objects which chiefly attract the attention of strangers, are 1. The
_Cathedral_, which is partly in the Gothic style of architecture, and
has two towers, ornamented with pilasters and statues, of very beautiful
symmetry. 2. The _Treasury_, which adjoins to the palace of the
viceroys: from this building, since the beginning of the 16th century,
more than 270 millions sterling, in gold and silver coin, have been
issued. 3. The _Convents_. 4. The _Hospital_, or rather the two united
hospitals, of which one maintains six hundred, and the other eight
hundred children and old people. 5. The _Acordada_, a fine edifice, of
which the prisons are spacious and well aired. 6. The _School of Mines_.
7. The _Botanical Garden_, in one of the courts of the viceroy's palace.
8. The edifices of the _University_ and the _Public Library_, which,
however, are very unworthy of so great and ancient an establishment. 9.
The _Academy of Fine Arts_.
Mexico is the see of an archbishop, and contains twenty-three convents
for monks, and fifteen for nuns. Its whole population is estimated at
one hundred and forty thousand persons.
On the north-side of the city, near the suburbs, is a _public walk_,
which forms a large square, having a basin in the middle, and where
eight walks terminate.
The _markets_ of Mexico are well supplied with eatables; particularly
with roots and fruit. It is an interesting spectacle, which may be
enjoyed every morning at sunrise, to see these provisions, and a great
quantity of flowers, brought by Indians, in boats, along the canals.
Most of the roots are cultivated on what are called _chinampas_, or
"floating gardens." These are of two sorts: one moveable, and driven
about by the winds, and the other fixed and attached to the shore. The
first alone merit the denomination of floating-gardens.
Simple lumps of earth, in lakes or rivers, carried away from the banks,
have given rise to the invention of chinampas. The floating-gardens, of
which very many were found by the Spaniards, when they first invaded
Mexico, and of which many still exist in the lake of Chalco, were rafts
formed of reeds, rushes, roots, and branches of underwood. The Indians
cover these light and well connected materials with a black mould, which
becomes extremely fertile. The chinampas sometimes contain the cottage
of the Indian, who acts as guard for a group of floating gardens. When
removed from one side of the banks to the other, they are either towed
or are pushed with long poles. Every chinampa forms an oblong square
about three hundred feet in length, and eighteen or nineteen feet broad.
Narrow ditches, communicating symmetrically between them, separate these
squares. The mould fit for cultivation rises about three feet above the
surface of the surrounding water. On these chinampas are cultivated
beans, peas, pimento, potatoes, artichokes, cauliflowers, and a great
variety of other vegetables. Their sides are generally ornamented with
flowers, and sometimes with hedges of rose-bushes. The promenade in
boats, around the chinampas of the river Istracalco, is one of the most
agreeable amusements that can be enjoyed in the environs of Mexico. The
vegetation is extremely vigorous, on a soil which is continually
refreshed with water.
The _Hill of Chapoltepec_, near Mexico, was chosen by the young viceroy
Galvez, as the site of a villa for himself and his successors. The
castle has been finished externally, but the apartments were not
completed when M. de Humboldt was here. This building cost the king of
Spain more than L.62,000 sterling.
With respect to the two great _lakes_, Tezcuco and Chalco, which are
situated in the valley of Mexico, one is of fresh water, and the other
salt. They are separated by a narrow range of mountains, which rise in
the middle of the plain; and their waters mingle together, in a strait
between the hills. On both these lakes there are numerous towns and
villages, which carry on their commerce with each other in canoes,
without touching the continent.