CANOE VOYAGE UP THE RIVER PANUCO. RAMBLES AMONG THE RUINS OF ANCIENT
CITIES.
An independent mode of travelling.--The river and its
banks.--Soil and productions.--A Yankee brick yard.--Indian
huts.--Their manner of living.--Their position in
society.--Their dress, stature and general
appearance.--Arrival at Topila Creek.--Mr. Coss'
rancho.--The Lady's Room.--Company at night.--An aged
Indian.--His ignorance of the past.--Mounds.--Ruins of an
ancient town.--Rancho de las Piedras.--Topila
Hills.--Numerous Mounds.--An ancient well.--A wild
fig-tree.--Extensive ruins.--An evening scene.--Attack of
the Bandaleros.--Happy escape.
On the evening of the 14th of March, 1844, I took a temporary leave of
Tampico, and proceeded up the river Panuco, with the intention of visiting,
and as far as my time and means might allow, of exploring the ruins then
known to exist, and of seeking others which I supposed might be found, in
that vicinity. My mode of conveyance was as primitive and independent, as
can well be imagined. In my own hired canoe, with an Indian to paddle me
along, I felt that I was master of my own time and movements, and enjoyed,
for a season, a perfect freedom from the ordinary restraints and
responsibilities of social life. Leaving care, and business, and the world
behind, and committing my little all to the favoring smiles of an
omnipresent Providence, I threaded my way through the circuitous windings
of that romantic stream, with a resolute purpose to enjoy every thing, and
be annoyed at nothing, however strange it might be. This disposition is
essential to the comfort of the traveller, in any strange land, and
especially in one that is barbarous, or semi-civilized; and, under whatever
circumstances it is put in requisition, it is its own sufficient reward.
The river Panuco rises among the lakes near the city of Mexico, and winds
its meandering way, under several different names, the principal of which
is "Canada," till it debouches into the Gulf of Mexico, six miles below
Tampico. It is navigable about one hundred and forty miles, for all vessels
that can pass the bar at its mouth; and yet, owing to its circuitous
course, the distance _by land_, from this head of navigation to Tampico, is
not more than forty miles. The river seldom swells so as to overflow its
banks. The land, on either side, was found, on examination, to be a deep,
rich loam, capable of producing corn, sugar, tobacco and rice. The sugar
cane found in this region is extremely productive. It grows in height from
fourteen to twenty feet, and requires re-planting but once in nine or ten
years. It will be a glorious region for amateur planters and speculators,
when "the area of freedom" shall have extended to the Isthmus of Panama.
Ebony, rose-wood, dye-woods of various kinds, and sarsaparilla, are cut
here in great abundance, and are important articles of exportation.
The banks of this river, though beautifully arrayed in the verdure of
nature, want that humanizing interest, that peculiar utilitarian charm,
which cultivation and occupation alone can impart. Our progress, therefore,
though always presenting something new to the eye, seemed comparatively
slow and tedious, with little of life, but that which we carried along with
us, to disturb its quiet monotony.
As the evening of the first day was setting in, we stopped at a brick yard,
the property of two enterprising kind-hearted Americans, by whom we were
hospitably entertained, and who informed us that our day's journey had been
made, by travelling a distance of eighteen miles. The new town of Santa
Anna de Tamaulipas, brought into requisition, and gave employment to many
of our countrymen. And, when the making of brick became lucrative, our
good-natured hosts determined to lose no time in taking advantage of the
occasion. The adventure was accordingly made, and a few years' thrift has
placed their affairs in a hopeful and healthy condition. But, like all
other foreigners in this country, they are heartily tired of remaining
here, and are looking forward with much anxiety to the happy day, when they
shall be enabled to return to their native land; for, such are the decrees
of the government, that, in direct violation of treaty, an open warfare is
kept up against the rights and interests of all emigrants,--but, more
particularly, those from the United States,--many of whom are sacrificing
their property and prospects of affluence, and leaving the country in utter
disgust.
Early the following morning, we proceeded on our course up the river,
stopping, occasionally, to visit the rude huts of the Indians. The huts are
formed principally of mud, with thatched roofs, and present a most
uncomfortable appearance; whilst the poor, degenerated occupants, derive a
mean and scanty support, from a small strip of land along the banks of the
river, their chief object being the cultivation of corn for their own use.
Pieces of clay, put rudely together and baked, are the common utensils for
cooking their food; and a few upright sticks or reeds, driven into the mud
floor, with a hide stretched over them, constitute their most luxurious
bed. Indolent and filthy, they work only to meet their own immediate wants;
and, so degraded is their condition, that gaming and cock-fighting are
their principal pastimes. The inebriating bowl, also, is eagerly sought by
them, and a large portion of their earnings is spent in this riotous way,
even under the guidance of their priests, at the celebration of a marriage,
or on the occasion of a christening.
The Indians of Central America, bear as little resemblance to those of our
country generally, as the Spaniards among whom they dwell do, to us. They
do not, in any place, live by themselves, as independent tribes. They have
no peculiar habits of life, or of warfare--no hunting--no sports peculiar
to themselves--and none of the customs of their ancestors preserved, to
distinguish them from the mass of people about them. It is only their
complexion, their poverty, and generally degraded condition, that marks the
difference between them and their neighbors. They occupy nearly the same
position there, as the free blacks do in the United States, with this
difference in favor of the latter--that there is nothing in the spirit of
our institutions, civil, _or religious_, that prevents them from attaining
a respectable education, and a comfortable independence.
[Illustration: AN INDIAN MAN AND WOMAN.]
Ordinarily, the men wear trousers,--sometimes shirts of cotton,--but, in
many parts of the country, owing to the prohibition of certain qualities
and textures, this luxury is fast disappearing, and the more primitive
dress of _skins_ is taking its place. The _rebosa_, a narrow scarf, thrown
over the head and shoulders, is indispensable to females. No matter what
constitutes the other portion of their covering, even though, as is
oftentimes the case, their wardrobe is so scanty as scarcely to cover their
limbs, yet this is considered paramount. On one occasion, I remember to
have seen a female, with a rebosa upon her head, which cost no less than
twenty-five dollars, whilst her body was miserably covered with a sort of
under garment, or petticoat, such as few of our common street beggars would
be willing to wear.
These people are of the usual color and stature of the Mexican Indians, but
not so finely formed as the majority of them are,--nor have they that good
expression, so prominent among the people of the southern portions of
Mexico. They seem, moreover, to be entirely destitute of that spirit of
religion, which their manifest appreciation of some religious rites, would
naturally lead us to expect. Altogether, they are the most unfavorable
specimen of the natives that have fallen under my observation.
Before night-fall of the second day of our voyage, we reached the mouth of
the Topila Creek, a distance of twenty miles from the brick-yard.
Continuing our course up that stream about three miles, we came to a
rancho, or cattle-farm, belong to a Mr. Coss, of Tampico, brother of the
celebrated general of Texan memory. Before I left Tampico, this gentleman
gave me a letter to his major-domo, a half-breed, who received us with
great attention. The letter being very explicit on the subject of
_accommodation_, I could not but fare well in this respect,--and it may
yet, perhaps, be gathered from the sequel, that I was treated more like a
prince than a common traveller.
Arriving at the place, we were ushered into a bamboo house, with mud walls,
and floors of the same primitive material. This house contained no less
than two apartments. One of these, sustained the distinguished appellation
of "_the lady's room_"--and it was now my privilege to become its _sole_
occupant. In one corner of the room, stood a bedstead, without bed or
bedding; and a dressing-table, decorated with sundry condemned combs,
oil-bottles, scissors and patches, occupied another; whilst a demijohn of
aguardiente, and other interesting ornaments, such as saddles, guns, and
swords, filled up the picture. However, as I intended to make this place my
head-quarters, while exploring the hills and river banks in the
neighborhood, I at once resolved to be satisfied with "the lady's room,"
and such other good things as the place afforded. Accordingly, at an early
hour, I spread out my blanket, and retired for the night;--"deep into the
darkness peering--long I lay there, fondly dreaming," as before observed,
that I was "alone in my glory."
But, alas! the soft reflections of dreamy hours were disturbed by an
unexpected visit from a goodly number of well-disciplined, noxious little
animals, who introduced themselves to me in a most significant, yet
unceremonious manner. No remarks being made respecting the object of their
visit, I was left to infer, that the kindness of the major-domo had moved
him to organize a new company of lancers, for my especial benefit. After
many unsuccessful attempts to induce this unsolicited force to withdraw, my
attention was politely called to another quarter. Having been strongly
impressed, I was now fully convinced, of the immediate presence of sundry
young pigeons, many of whom, protected by their maternal parents, were
perched in the crevices of the wall over my head. These, together with the
game fowls, setting under my bed, contributed much to destroy that
confidence which, until now had not been disturbed, that I had actually
secured the undivided occupancy of that unique apartment. Of course, it was
unnecessary to arouse me in the morning.
Before sunrise, I found myself well equipped for the explorations of the
day. The mules being in readiness, I started in company with a guide, and
rode five miles to another rancho, where, as I was informed, there lived an
Indian upwards of a hundred years of age. I found him, to my surprise, a
hale and sturdy man--though he could give me no intelligence respecting the
objects of my research. Indeed, so suspicious are these people of the
designs of strangers, that it was with the utmost difficulty I could
convince him, as well as others, that my only motive in visiting the
country, was to acquaint myself with the ancient places of their
forefathers; not, as they supposed, to roam in quest of gold and silver
mines.
Supposing that, in a man so much beyond the ordinary limit of human life,
whose memory might extend back almost one-third of the way to the era of
the Spanish conquest, and who was now in the full possession of his
faculties, I had found a rare and enviable opportunity to pry into the
mysteries of the past, and learn something of the history of the remarkable
people, who once occupied this whole region, and filled it with monuments
of their genius, taste, and power;--I employed all my ingenuity to draw out
of him whatever he knew. But it was pumping at an exhausted well. Of facts,
of history, in any form, he had nothing to tell. He seemed not to have a
thought that there was anything to be told, except one vague
unsatisfactory tradition, the only one existing among the inhabitants in
all this region, that once on a time--they have no conception when, whether
a hundred or a thousand years ago--"giants came from the North, as was
prophesied by the gods, killed and destroyed the people, and continued on
to the South." This tradition, bearing a strong analogy to one which
prevails among nearly all the aboriginal tribes of the Mississippi Valley,
and the wilds of the west, seems to be the only connecting link between the
present generation, and that mysteriously interesting blank--the
exterminated obliterated Past.
In the vicinity of this rancho, in an easterly direction from it, I found,
in several considerable mounds, the first traces of ancient art that had
greeted my eyes. One of these mounds was more than twenty-five feet in
height, and of a circular form. At its sides, a number of layers of small,
flat, well-hewn stones were still to be seen. Scattered about, in its
immediate neighborhood, were also many others of a larger size, and of
different forms. These had apparently once been used for the sides of
door-ways and lintels. They were perfectly plain, without any mark or sign
of ornament.
Upon this spot once stood one of those ancient Indian towns, the memorials
of whose departed greatness and glory are so often met with, in every part
of this interesting country. The ruins in this place are ruins indeed, so
dilapidated as not to afford, at the present time, the remotest clue to the
manners and customs of the builders, or the degree of civilization to which
they may have attained. I traversed the whole ground, as well as the rank
vegetation, and wild animals would permit, and found my way back to the
Topila at dark,--congratulating myself on having been able to accomplish so
much, in the way of exploration, with no other protection than the untanned
skin of an American, while that of a rhinoceros seemed absolutely necessary
to the undertaking; for both the animal and vegetable kingdoms appeared to
be combined against the intrusion of man.
On the morning of the next day, I set out with a party of Indians, on a
visit to the _Rancho de las Piedras_, distant about two leagues and a half,
in a south-east direction. We made our way, slowly, and wearily, as usual,
threading the thick wilds with much toil and fatigue, until we reached a
rise of land, or plateau, near a chain of hills running through this
section of country, and known as the Topila Hills. Here I found stones that
were once evidently used for buildings. Proceeding on our way, we came to
other and clearer evidences of ancient art. These were mounds, the sides of
which had been constructed of loose layers of smooth and uniform blocks of
concrete sandstone;--but most of the layers had fallen from their original
position, and were found in large masses near the elevation. The blocks of
stone, with a surface eighteen inches square, measured about six inches in
thickness, and appeared to have been laid without mortar, or other adhesive
material. I observed about twenty of these mounds, contiguous to each
other, and varying in height from six to twenty-five feet,--some being of a
circular, and others of a square form; but, unlike most of those found in
other parts of the country, they were not laid out with any degree of
regularity. On the top of one of the largest, there had evidently been a
terrace, though it was difficult, in its present dilapidated state, to
define its outlines, or judge of its extent.
The principal elevation covers an area of about two acres. At the base of
this mound, was a slab of stone about seven inches in thickness, well hewn,
and of a circular form, having a hole through the centre, and resting upon
a circular wall, or foundation, the top of which was level with the ground.
This stone measured four feet nine inches in diameter. On removing it, I
discovered a well, filled up with broken stone and fragments of pottery.
Stone coverings in wells have been found in the ancient works on the main
branches of Paint Creek, Ohio, bearing a strong resemblance to the one here
noticed; and it is also worthy of remark, that wells covered in this way,
strongly resemble the descriptions we have of those used in the patriarchal
ages. How much of an argument might be made, from such an isolated
circumstance as this, to confirm the opinion entertained by some able
writers, that the aboriginal inhabitants of America were the descendants of
Abraham, the lost ten tribes, who revolted under Rehoboam, the son of
Solomon, and were carried away into Assyria, I shall not undertake to
decide. Many a fair theory, however, has been erected upon a foundation no
broader than this, nor more substantial; and many a volume has been written
to sustain the shadowy fabric.
I should have stated above, that the upper side of the stone removed, bore
evidence of having been originally wrought with ornamental lines; but these
lines were so much obliterated by time and exposure to the weather, that
they could not now be traced.
On the top of this mound, a wild fig-tree, more than a hundred feet high,
grows luxuriantly, indicating by its size and age, that the mound on which
it stands, is not the work of modern builders.
The walls of the smaller mounds had invariably fallen inwards, a
circumstance which led to the conjecture that they had been used as burying
places. For, as the bones within would, in process of time, decay and
moulder into dust, the loose walls, having no cement to hold them together,
would gradually settle in upon the ashes of the dead. The ground for
several miles around, was strewn with loose hewn stones, of various shapes,
and broken pieces of pottery, evidently parts of household utensils; also,
fragments of obsidean, which no doubt had been used as the knives and
spears of a people, respecting whom, little is known at this day, except
that they were a warlike race, and far advanced in the arts of
civilization. The nearest point now known, where this mineral can be
obtained, is _Pelados_, near the Real del Monte, in the vicinity of the
city of Mexico. The celebrated "Mountain of Flints," which, though but
twenty-four miles in extent, cost the indefatigable Cortes, and his brave
band, twelve days of the most painful toil to surmount, lies still farther
off, in the south western part of Yucatan.
An incident of a somewhat startling character, which occured to me here,
while it illustrates another feature in the state of society in these
parts, and the character of the people whom the traveller sometimes has to
deal with, will serve to bring the present chapter to close; leaving the
interesting curiosities discovered among the ruins, and a yet more
thrilling adventure which befel me, to form the material for a separate
chapter.
It was evening. The day had been spent in rambling and climbing about the
time hallowed ruins of those old deserted cities, and searching among the
mouldering relics of antiquity, for something to identify the dead with the
living, or to serve as a satisfactory link between the past and the
present. My Indian comrades and myself were cosily discussing our forest
fare, each indulging in his own private reflections, and totally
unsuspicious of any interruption to our humble meal, when we were suddenly
surrounded by a band of those grim-looking, dark-bearded, heavily-whiskered
gentlemanly-looking like highwaymen, that infest almost every part of the
country. They immediately dismounted, and made us prisoners, seizing us by
the hand as if they would bind us, to prevent our escape. We made no
resistance, for we were unprepared for defence, and entirely at their
mercy. Here, now, was trouble enough. What a poor finale to my brief and
unprofitable adventures, to be murdered in cold blood by these merciless
banditti, or made a hopeless captive in some of their mountain fastnesses!
My position, feelings, and reflections, can be better imagined than
described.
Having surveyed us from crown to toe, with the utmost scrutiny, and
compared notes respecting our appearance, and the prospect of obtaining any
satisfaction in our blood, they drew forth from their bags--the huge and
fearful looking horse-pistol?--No. The long, glittering, keen-edged,
high-tempered dirk, drunk with the blood of numberless victims of their
rapacious cruelty?--No. The slender stiletto, so delicately formed, and so
exquisitely polished, as to insinuate itself into the vitals, ere the
parted epidermis had realized the rent it had made in passing?--No. The
savage cutlass?--the heavy, fierce-looking, trenchant broad-sword?--No. Not
these--nor any of them,--but, unexpected, and unheard of, even among
civilized highwaymen--they drew out an ample store of substantial food, and
invited us to partake of their supper. We did not shrink from their
professed hospitality. We made ourselves of their party for the moment, and
spent an hour, or more, in their company, with great glee, and with mutual
satisfaction--after which, they mounted and rode off, and we took to our
hammocks and our dreams.
By what token we escaped, I was not able to conjecture. Whether, as my
vanity might have suggested, it was to be attributed to my good looks, or
to my Spanish sombrero, flannel shirt, and bandolero air, or to the
influence of some propitious star, just then in the ascendant, is a mystery
yet to be explained. If I may have the same good fortune in escaping the
censure of the reader, upon whose patience these trifling sketches have
been inflicted, it will afford me a gratification that will far more than
overbalance all the pains and inconveniences that I have suffered, from
being brought into conflict with insects, wild beasts, and robbers.