[Illustration]
MEXICO;
AZTEC, SPANISH AND REPUBLICAN:
A HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, POLITICAL, STATISTICAL AND SOCIAL
ACCOUNT OF THAT COUNTRY FROM THE PERIOD OF THE INVASION
BY THE SPANIARDS TO THE PRESENT TIME;
WITH A VIEW OF THE
ANCIENT AZTEC EMPIRE AND CIVILIZATION;
A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE LATE WAR;
AND NOTICES OF
NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA.
BY
BRANTZ MAYER,
FORMERLY SECRETARY OF LEGATION TO MEXICO.
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME II.
HARTFORD:
S. DRAKE AND COMPANY.
MDCCCLIII.
ENTERED according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by
SIDNEY DRAKE,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut.
C. A. ALVORD, PRINTER
29 Gold-st., N. Y.
CONTENTS.
BOOK IV.
CHAPTER I.--Absence of accuracy--Humboldt--Superficial extent
of Mexican Territory--Physical structure of Mexico--Volcanic
mountains--Climates--Tierras Templadas, Calientes,
Frias--Political divisions and boundaries of Mexico--Old Spanish
divisions--Provinces--Intendencies--States--Departments--North
boundary--Present States and Territories--Rivers of Mexico--Rivers and
Lakes of Mexico, 9
CHAPTER II.--Division of
population--Whites--Indians--Africans--Leperos--Rancheros--Characteristics,
Indifference, Procrastination--Females--Better
Classes--Their social habits--Entertainments--Leperos--Their
habits--Evangelistas--Thieving--The Ranchero--His character and
habits--The Indian race--Agriculturists--Traditionary habits adhered
to--Improvidence--Superstition--Drunkenness--Indian women--Servile
condition--Local adhesiveness--Peonage--Whipping--Planter-life--Its
solitude and results--Mülenpfordt's character of the Indians--Indian
tribes and races in Mexico--Table of castes in Mexico, 22
CHAPTER III.--Population--Census--Tables of population--Relative
division of races--Relative intellectual cultivation--Relative
population in hot and cold districts, 41
CHAPTER IV.--Agriculture--Dry and rainy seasons--Irrigation--Yield
of corn lands--Colonial restrictions--Colonial dependence--Bad
intercommunication--Arrieros--Corn lands--Different kinds
of corn in Mexico--Mode of cultivation--Production--various
uses of corn--Banana--Mainoc--Rice--The olive--Vine--Chile
pepper--tomato--Frijol--Maguey--Maguey estates--Making
Pulque--Aloes--Cacti, 48
CHAPTER V.--Estates in the valleys of Cuernavaca and
Cuautla--Mexican haciendas--Sugar regions--Coffee--Its
yield--Tobacco--Orizaba--Chiapas, etc.--Indigo--Cotton--Manufactures
encouraged in Mexico--No new agricultural
population--New manufacturing population--Production of
cotton--Vainilla--Jalap--Cacao--Cochineal--Its production and
quantity--Silk--Fruits--Agricultural prospects--Grazing, and not an
agricultural country, 62
CHAPTER VI.--Reflections on emigration--Advantages of America--Land
and labor--Mines wrought by Aztecs--Mining districts and extent
in Mexico--Errors as to early supply of metals from America--True
period of abundance--Mines not exhausted--Condition--Families
enriched--Effect of mining on Agriculture--Relative product of
silver for ten years--Table of product--Yield of the mines since the
Conquest--Coinage in 1844--Total coinage 1535 to 1850, 76
CHAPTER VII--Income of New Spain 1809--Expenses
of New Spain 1809--Mineral productions--Military
force--Agriculture--Manufactures--Commerce--Exports--Imports--Present
commerce--Imports--Exports--Nineteen years trade between the United
States and Mexico--Character of imports--Character of exports--Silver
exported--Fairs in Mexico--The future prospects and position of
Mexico--Not a commercial country--Railway from Vera Cruz to the city
of Mexico, 93
CHAPTER VIII.--Disorder of Mexican finances--Enormous usury--Character
of financial operations--Expenses of administrations--Analysis of
Mexican debt--Comparison of income and outlay--Deficit, 107
CHAPTER IX.--Table of cotton factories in
Mexico--Consumption--Production--Increase of factories--Day and night
work--Deficit of material--Water and steam power--Mexican manufactures
generally, 112
CHAPTER X.--The military in Mexico before and after the
revolution--Confirmation of army--Its political use--Character
of Mexican soldiers--Recruiting--Tactics--Officers--Dramatic
character of army--Recriminations--Condition of the army at the
peace--Army on the northern frontier--Military colonies--Character
of the tribes--Fortresses--Perote--Acapulco--San Juan de
Ulua--Re-organization of the army--Tabular view of men
and Materiel--Navy--Extent of coast on both seas--Naval
establishment--Vessels and officers--Expenses of war and navy, 116
CHAPTER XI--Relations between the Mexican church and the
Pope--Clergy--Monks--Nuns--Monasteries--Convents--Wealth of the
church--Ratio of clergy and people--High and low clergy--their
history--vices--Monks--Rural clergy--Their character--Conduct
of clergy, public and private--Missions in California--Mode of
conversion--Monks in Mexico--Zavala's strictures--Pazo's strictures
on South American clergy--Church in the United States and in
Mexico--Constitutional protection of Catholicism--Duty of the
church--Bulls--Paper money, 130
CHAPTER XII.--Various changes of the Mexican
constitution--Present organization of the national and
state governments--Constitution of 1847--Legislative and
judiciary--National and state--Judiciary--Administration of
justice--Civil and criminal process--Mal-administration of
justice--Prisons--Crime--Accordada--Condition of prisons--Statistics
of crime in the capital--Garrotte--Mexican opinions, 144
CHAPTER XIII.--What Mexico has done--Review
of her conduct and character--Mexican
opinions--Classes--Indians--Mestizos--Whites--Army--Church--Divisions
of whites--want of Homogeneousness--Want of nationality and of
a people--Remedies--Emigration--Religious liberty--political
order--Labor, 155
BOOK V.
CHAPTER I.--Division of Mexico into States--Eastern, western,
interior--Yucatan--Boundaries, departments, population, districts,
towns, parishes, productions, principal towns, islands,
harbors--Chiapas--Boundaries, products, departments, towns, rivers,
population--Remains in Yucatan and Chiapas--Discoveries of Stephens,
Catherwood, Norman, etc.--Palenque--Uxmal--Yucatan calendar--Yucatan,
Chiapan, Mechoacan, Nicaragua and Mexican months--Yucatese and
Chiapan cycle--Yucatese and Mexican solar year--Differences--Yucatese
months--Tabasco--Boundaries, rivers, lagune, inhabitants, productions,
towns and villages, 165
CHAPTER II.--Boundaries of Vera Cruz--Rivers, lagunes, mineral
springs, population, political divisions, productions, cattle,
cities, towns--Vera Cruz--Its diseases--Meteorological
observations at--Water fallen at Vera Cruz--Orizaba--Ascent
of the mountain--Magnificent views--Difficulties--The crater
extinct--Elevation of the mountain--Descent--Antiquities
in the state of Vera Cruz--Ruins at Panuco, Chacuaco, San
Nicolas, La Trinidad--Small figures--Papantla--Description
of the pyramid--Ruins at Mapilca--Pyramid and temple at
Tusapan--Isle of Sacrificios--Misantla--Remains near
Puente Nacional--Tamaulipas--Boundaries, rivers, lagunes,
climate, population, productions, towns--Antiquities of
Tamaulipas--Topila--Rancho de las piedras--Sculpture--Remains, etc.,
etc. 183
CHAPTER III.--Oajaca--Extent, Boundaries, Geology, Valley, Indians,
Departments, Population, Mines, Ports, Productions, Cattle,
Towns, Ancient remains--Mitla--The palace--Tombs--Antiquarian
speculations--connection of Mexican remains--Quiotepec, or Cerro de
las Juntas, 210
CHAPTER IV.--Puebla--Divisions, productions,
factories--River--Streams--Puebla de los
Angeles--Cathedral--Towns--Mines--Quarries--Mountains--Popocatepetl
--Atlixco--Olivares--Ascent of the mountain--The crater--Elevation--Pyramid
of Cholula--Visit to the pyramid--Correct dimensions--Territory of
Tlascala--History--Position--Size--Productions--Towns, 220
CHAPTER V.--State of Mexico--Area, Divisions,
Population, Federal district, Valley, Highways,
Lakes--Zumpango--Cristovol--Chalco--Xochimilco--Tezcoco--Salt-works
--Cities--San Augustin--Festival--Tezcoco, Tacuba, Toluca--Cascade
of Regla--Towns--Valley of Cuernavaca--Acapantzingo--Its Indian
isolation--Mines in the state, 233
CHAPTER VI.--Description of the city of Mexico--Cathedral--Its
architecture and riches--The Palace, University, Market,
Chamber of Deputies, etc.--Portales--Mineria--La Merced--San
Domingo--Characters and costumes--Paseos--Alameda--Aqueducts--Passeo
Nuevo and de la Viga--Alameda--Description of it--Life in
Mexico--Theatres--Opera--Domestic life--Genuine but cautious
hospitality--Legend of the virgin of Guadalupe, 244
CHAPTER VII.--Antiquities in the museum--Statue of Charles
IV.--Condition of the museum--Feathered serpents--Viceroy's
portraits--Cortéz--Portrait--Armor--Pedro de
Alvarado--Images--Vases--Tezcoco--Palace--Trough--Massive
mounds--Tescocingo--Hill--Its ancient adornments--Ancient
bellevue and reservoir--Tezcocan splendor--Bosque del
Contador--Ponds--Lakes--Arbors--Pyramids of Teotihuacan--Houses of sun
and moon--Path of the dead--Carved pillar--Pillar at Otumba--Pyramid
of Xochicalco--Hill of Xochicalco--Its structures, 266
CHAPTER VIII.--State of Mechoacan--Boundaries--Elevations--Volcano of
Jorullo--Theories of Humboldt and Lyell--Present condition--Rivers of
Mechoacan--Climate, Health, Indians, Departments, Agriculture, Towns,
Mines--Jalisco--Boundaries, Population, Rivers, Lakes, Divisions,
Manufactures, Agriculture, Factories--Guadalajara--Towns--San Juan
de los Lagos--Tepic--San Blas--Mines, Islands, Mining region,
Indians, Character and Habits, Church and School, Education,
Bishopric--Territory of Colima--Extent, Climate, Productions,
Towns, 286
CHAPTER IX.--Sinaloa--Boundaries, Climate, Divisions, Indians,
Products, Towns, Mines--Sonora--Boundaries, Divisions, Rivers,
Climate, Indians, Trade, Towns, Mines--Territory of Lower
California--Boundaries, Character, Population, Products, Pearls, Salt,
Mines, Seals, Whales, Climate, Ports, towns, Population--State of
Guerrero, 298
CHAPTER X.--State of Querétaro--Boundaries, Divisions,
Characteristics, Rivers, Population and climate, Districts,
etc., Agricultural products, Forests, Factories, Cities,
Mines--State of Guanajuato--Boundaries, Extent, Soil--Lake
Yurirapundaro--Climate, Effect of maladies--Productions, Vine,
Olive--Divisions--Population--City of Guanajuato--Towns in
the state--Hacienda of Jaral--Mines--Silver, Copper, Lead,
Cinnabar--Zacatécas--Boundaries, Extent, Agriculture, Divisions,
Population, Towns--Zacatécas--Aguas Calientes, etc.--Product and value
of Zacatécan mines--Ruins of Quemada in Zacatécas, 306
CHAPTER XI.--State of San Luis Potosi--Boundaries,
Lakes, Rivers, Climate, Departments, Products--San
Luis--Towns--Mining region--New Leon--Boundaries, Character,
Rivers, Climate, Departments--Agriculture--Grazing,
etc.--Monterey--Coahuila--Boundary, Position, Climate, Productions,
Towns--State of Durango--Boundary, Character, Divisions, Streams,
Productions--City of Durango--Towns, Mines, Iron, Silver--Indian
necrology--Cave burial, 324
CHAPTER XII.--State of Chihuahua--Position, Boundaries,
Extent, Characteristics, Rivers, Lakes, Indians, Divisions,
Climate, Productions--Cattle estates--Mint--Mines--Principal
towns--Chihuahua--El Paso del Norte--Military importance--El
Paso wine, etc.--Antiquities--Indian ravages--The
Bolson de Mapimi--Mexican modes of travelling and
transportation--Litera--Mules--Arrieros--Conducta--Coaches--Freight
wagons--Mexican habit of Home-staying--want of exploration--Modern
advancement, 334
APPENDIX NO. 1--Profile of the Plateau--Mexico to Santa Fé--Santa Fé
to the Gulf, 346
APPENDIX NO. 2--Mexican Coins, Weights and Measures, 347
BOOK VI.
TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO.--Exploration of the far
west--Long, Nicollet, Frémont--Santa Fé trade--First
adventurers--Caravans--New Mexico erected by Congress into a
territory--Geological structure of New Mexico--The Rio Grande--Its
value--Soil--Products--Irrigation--Cattle--Indians--Mines--Gold--Silver
--Copper--Iron--Gypsum--Salt--Climate--Pueblo Indians--Wild Indians
enumerated--Number of Pueblo Indians--Census--Proximate present
population--Character of people and government--Santa Fé--Alburquerque
--Valley of Toas--Statistics of Santa Fé trade, etc.--Itinerary from
Fort Leavenworth to Santa Fé and El Paso, 351
STATE OF CALIFORNIA.--Title to the region--Missionary settlement,
its purposes--Character of California--Secularization
of missions--Population in missions--Agricultural
statistics--Cattle--Hides--Tallow--Herdsmen--Trade--The
war--Condition of California at its close--Progress of
settlement and law--Constitution adopted--Admission as a
state--Former boundaries--The great Basin--Utah--Great
Salt Lake--Pyramid lake--Rivers--Present state
boundaries--Area--Geography--Sacramento--San Joaquin--Shastl
peak, 367
STATE OF CALIFORNIA CONTINUED.--Configuration of the state--Bay
of San Francisco and city--Rivers of California--Character of
soil, etc.--Relative sterility and productiveness--Climate--Dry
and wet seasons--Causes of change--Climate in San Francisco,
coast range valleys and interior valley--Area of arable and
grazing land--Productions--Discovery of gold--Its position--The
placeres--Washing--Digging--The Mines--Calculations as to the yield
of the mines--Gold yielded by California--Its quality--Quicksilver
mines--Commerce--Population--Growth of cities--Old
presidios--Towns--Land titles--Mission lands--Conclusion, 378
APPENDIX.--Meteorological Observations in California, 398
BOOK IV.
GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL STRUCTURE OF MEXICO--POLITICAL
DIVISIONS--POPULATION; PRODUCTIONS--MINES--AGRICULTURE;
MANUFACTURES--COMMERCE--FINANCES--ARMY; NAVY--CHURCH--CONSTITUTION AND
LAWS; NATIONAL CONDITION.
CHAPTER I.
GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL STRUCTURE OF MEXICO--EXTENT.
ABSENCE OF ACCURACY--HUMBOLDT.--SUPERFICIAL EXTENT OF MEXICAN
TERRITORY.--PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF MEXICO--VOLCANIC
MOUNTAINS--CLIMATES--TIERRAS TEMPLADAS, CALIENTES,
FRIAS.--POLITICAL DIVISIONS AND BOUNDARIES OF MEXICO.--OLD SPANISH
DIVISIONS--PROVINCES--INTENDENCIES--STATES--DEPARTMENTS.--NORTH
BOUNDARY--PRESENT STATES AND TERRITORIES.--RIVERS OF
MEXICO.--RIVERS AND LAKES OF MEXICO.
It is unfortunate that, notwithstanding the rich mineralogical and
agricultural character of Mexico, no thoroughly accurate survey or
geological examination has ever been made of the whole country. There is
no complete map of the territory which may be confidently relied on. The
enterprise of developing Mexico, since the foundation of the colonial
government by Spain has been almost entirely abandoned to private
enterprise, and, consequently the valuable information, collected by
individuals, either perished in their hands after it had been used for
their own benefit, or, if imparted to the government, has never been
united and collated with other accounts and reconnoissances which were
in the hands of national authorities. A great deal was done by Baron
Alexander Humboldt, during his visit to New Spain early in this century,
towards gathering the geographical, geological and statistical
information which was then in existence, though scattered, far and wide,
over the viceroyalty, in a thousand different hands. His voluminous work
is an enduring monument to his industry and talent; but there is
necessarily a great deal of it that was altogether transitory in its
character both on account of the political and social revolution which
has since occurred, and in consequence of the opening, by the republic,
of Mexican ports to the commerce of the world.
Nevertheless, at the period of Humboldt's visit, the main bold
geographical and geological features of Mexico were sufficiently well
known for practical purposes, and as his descriptions have, in most
cases, stood the test of criticism during near half a century, we may
still safely appeal to him, and to his industrious countryman,
Muhlenpfordt,[1] as the most reliable authorities upon these topics.
* * * * *
According to Humboldt, Mexico presented a surface of one hundred and
eighteen thousand four hundred and seventy-eight square _leagues_, of
twenty-five to the degree, yet this calculation did not include the
space between the northern extremity of New Mexico and Sonora, and the
American boundary of 1819. Thirty-six thousand five hundred square
leagues, comprising the States of Zacatecas, Guadalajara, Guanajuato,
Michoacan, Mexico, Puebla, Vera Cruz, Oajaca, Tabasco, Yucatan, Chiapas,
were within the torrid zone; while New Mexico, Durango, New and Old
California, Sonora and a great part of the old Intendancy of San Luis
Potosi, containing in all eighty-six thousand square leagues, were under
the temperate zone.[2]
A more recent, and, generally, an accurate writer,[3] has estimated the
boundaries of Mexico, prior to the treaty of 1848, at Guadalupe, between
the United States and Mexico, to have embraced an area of one million
six hundred and fifty thousand square miles, including Texas. By the
treaty just mentioned we acquired an undisputed title to Texas, and a
territorial cession of New Mexico and Upper California.
Texas is estimated to contain, 325,520 square miles.
New Mexico " " 77,387 " "
Upper California " 448,691 " "
--------
851,598 " "[4]
If we, therefore, deduct from the preceding estimate of one million six
hundred and fifty thousand square miles, the sum of eight hundred and
fifty-one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight square miles, we shall
have, as the best approximate calculation, that we can now make, seven
hundred and ninety-eight thousand four hundred and two square miles, for
the total superficial extent of the Republic of Mexico, as at present
bounded since the ratification of our recent international treaty. By
that negotiation it consequently appears that we have obtained one half
the former territory of Mexico and twenty-six thousand five hundred and
ninety-eight square miles besides.
The geological structure or physiognomy of Mexico is peculiar. The great
Cordillera of the Andes, which traverses the whole of South America,
from its southernmost limit, is exceedingly depressed at the Isthmus of
Panama, where its gentle swells serve merely to form a barrier between
the union of the Pacific and Atlantic. But, as soon as this massive
chain enters the broader portion of North America, it divides into two
gigantic _arms_, to the east and west along the shores of the Gulf and
of the Pacific, which support between them a continuous lofty platform,
or series of table lands, crossed, broken, and intersected by
innumerable and abrupt _sierras_, some of which rise to the height of
seventeen thousand feet above the level of the sea. This geological
structure prevails throughout the whole of Mexico, as now bounded; for,
at the Rio Grande, the southern limit of Texas, the land sinks to
comparative levels, and affords channels for the numerous and important
streams with which, Louisiana, Florida and Texas are abundantly
irrigated. Whilst this is the case on the _northern_ and _eastern_
confines of Mexico, the _western_ portion is still traversed by the main
body of the gigantic Cordillera, which, penetrating California with its
icy peaks of the Sierra Nevada, passes onward to the north until its
rocky walls are lost, beyond Oregon, in the wilderness that bounds the
Frozen Sea.[5]
The reader who pictures to himself such a country will easily understand
that all temperatures are gained in Mexico on the same parallel of
latitude,--or that eternal heat and eternal frost are encountered in
crossing the country in a straight line from Vera Cruz to the Pacific
coast. It is a country hanging on the two slopes of a mountain, one of
which descends to the Gulf and the other to the Western Ocean; and the
traveller, in penetrating it, even by the road usually traversed by
public conveyances, must attain a height of ten thousand six hundred and
sixty feet, before he begins to descend into the valley of Mexico, which
is, still, seven thousand five hundred and forty-eight feet above the
level of the sea! Thus it is, that throughout the table lands, the
geographical position, as far as latitude is concerned, is entirely
neutralized by the extreme rarefaction of the atmosphere obtained by
ascending through loftier regions. Humboldt graphically declares that
climates succeed each other in _strata_ or _layers_, as we pass from
Vera Cruz to the capital, or from the capital, descend to Acapulco or
San Blas on the west coast,--beholding in our varied journey, the whole
scale of vegetable life. The wild abundance of vegetation on the shore
of the Gulf,--its beautiful palms whose stems are wreathed by a myriad
of impenetrable parasites which grow with such rank luxuriance in the
hot and humid air of the tropics,--are exchanged, as we begin to rise
from the level of the sea, for hardier forest trees. At Jalapa the air
is milder, though the vapors from the Gulf which concentrate and
condense at about this height on the sides of the mountains, sustain the
perpetual freshness of the verdure. Further on, the oak and the orange
give place to the fir and pine. Here the rarefied air becomes pure, thin
and perfectly transparent; but as it necessarily lacks moisture, which
condenses below this region, the vegetation is neither so luxuriant nor
so constantly vigorous. Great plains or basins, spread out in silent and
melancholy vistas before the traveller,--many of them, cold, bleak and
lonely moors, whose dreary levels sadden the heart of the spectator. The
sun which comes down through the cloudless medium of an atmosphere
unscreened by the usual curtain of vapor, parches and crisps the thirsty
soil, whilst the winds that sweep uninterruptedly over the unbroken
expanse, fill the air, during the dry season, with sand and dust. These
high barren plains occupy a large portion of the centre of the country
between Zacatecas, Durango and Saltillo; and such is in fact the
character of large portions of the whole of Mexico, except when the
comparatively level nature of the soil permits the small rivulets that
filter from the Cordillera through the narrow vallies, to form
themselves into rivers which may be used for irrigation. Wherever this
is the case nature at once recovers her vigor under the influence of
heat and moisture.
These physical features, and consequent diversities of temperature, have
caused the division of Mexico, as it rises from the two Oceans, into
three regions, or superficial strata, which are called, the _tierras
calientes_, or _hot lands_; the _tierras templadas_, or _temperate
lands_; and the _tierras frias_ or _cold lands_. The _tierra caliente_
covers chiefly that portion of the territory which lies on the borders
of the Atlantic and Pacific; yet it is not confined exclusively to the
coast, inasmuch as all those parts of Mexico in which there is heat and
moisture enough to produce the fruits and maladies of the tropics, are
classed under this head. The _tierra fria_ comprises the mountainous
districts rising above the level of the capital up to the limit of
constant snow; while the _tierra templada_ embraces those milder middle
regions not comprehended in the two other sections. Classing them by
elevation _in feet_, we may suppose that the _tierras calientes_ extend
to between 3,000 and 4,000 feet above the level of the sea; the _tierras
templadas_ to between 4 and 8,000 feet; and that the _tierras frias_
embrace all the remaining portions up to the region of eternal ice.
POLITICAL DIVISIONS AND BOUNDARIES OF MEXICO.
It is, perhaps, more of historical or antiquarian interest, than of
actual present value, to recur to the ancient divisions of the
viceroyalty of New Spain. Nevertheless, there are readers who are
naturally anxious to trace the territorial aggrandizement as well as the
recent curtailment of Mexico, and we have, therefore, thought it proper
to present a picture of the limits and apportionment of the country at
several periods.
The territorial limits of that region generally called NEW SPAIN, were
comprised between the degrees of 15° 58´ and 42° of north latitude; and
between 89° 4´ and 126° 48´ 45´´ west longitude from Paris,--calculating
from the easternmost point of Cape Catoché, in Yucatan, to the extreme
western limit of the land at Cape Mendocino, in California. The Gulf of
Mexico and the Carribean Sea bounded this country on the east and
south-east; the Pacific Ocean on the west; Guatemala on the south; and
the United States, on the north. There was a multitude of islands
comprehended under this territorial dominion. On the east coast of
Yucatan were the isles of Holvas, Comboy, Mugeres, Cancun, Cozumel and
Ubero;--in the Gulf of Mexico, the island of Bermejos and several
smaller ones;--in the Pacific, the isles of Revilla-gigedo, of Maria,
Cedros, San Clemente, Santa Catalina, San Nicolas, Santa Barbara, Santa
Cruz, San Bernardo, San Miguel;--and in the Gulf of California, or
Cortéz, the isles of Cerralvo, Espiritu Santo, San José, Santa Cruz,
Carmen, Tortugas, Tiburon, Santa Iñez, and numerous insignificant islets
or keys.
* * * * *
The limit between the United States and New Spain was defined by a
treaty negotiated between the Chevalier de Onis, then Spanish minister
at Washington, and John Quincy Adams, American Secretary of State, after
long and learned historical as well as legal discussions of territorial
rights and limits, which the student will find, at large, in the second
and fourth volumes of "American State Papers," published by the
government of the United States. This treaty was signed on the 22d of
February, 1819, and, according to its third article, the boundary
between Mexico and Louisiana, which was then ceded to the Union,
commenced with the river Sabine at its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico,
at about latitude 29°, west longitude 94°, and followed its course as
far as its juncture with the Red river of Natchitoches, which then
served to mark the frontier up to the 100th degree of west longitude,
whence the line ran directly north to the river Arkansas, which it
followed to its source at the 42d° of north latitude,--whence another
straight line was drawn upon the said 42d parallel, to the coast of the
Pacific Ocean.
This line, it was supposed, would interpose a perpetual barrier of
wilderness, tenanted only by Indians and wild animals, between the
republic of the north and the treasured colonies of the Spanish crown.
But subsequent events have shown in the course of little more than the
quarter of a century, how rapidly the population of the old world and
the new has swelled beyond the limits prescribed by statesmen, until the
savage and the beast have been made to yield their hunting grounds and
forests for the use of civilized man.
* * * * *
At the earliest period of which we have any authentic information, this
territory of Spain was divided into the kingdoms of Mexico, New Galicia,
and New Leon; the colony of New Santander; and the provinces of
Coahuila, Texas, New Biscay, Sonora, New Mexico and the two Californias.
This arrangement was extremely indefinite; but, in 1776, the country was
divided into twelve intendancies: Merida, Oajaca, Vera Cruz, Puebla,
Mexico, Valladolid, Guanajuato, Guadalajara, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi,
New Biscay, and Sonora; and the three provinces of New Mexico, and Alta
and Nueva California. The intendancy of San Luis Potosi, included New
Leon, New Santander, Coahuila and Texas, and San Luis Potosi,
proper;--the intendancy of New Biscay embraced the provinces of Durango
and Chihuahua; and the intendancy of Sonora took in the provinces of
Sinaloa, Ostimuri, and Sonora. Each intendancy was subdivided into
_subdelegaciones_. Another division cut off New Spain, proper, from the
_Provincias Internas_. These last named provinces included all the
territory lying north and northwesterly of the intendancies of Zacatecas
and Guadalajara, or the kingdom of Nueva Gallicia. The "_Provincias
Internas del Vireynato_," must be distinguished from the "_Provincias
Internas de la Commandancia de Chihuahua_," which, in 1779, were
comprised in a General-Captaincy. The two intendancies New Biscay and
Sonora, then part of San Luis Potosi, belonged to the provinces of
Coahuila and Texas. The interior provinces of the viceroyalty were the
intendancy of San Luis Potosi, including the provinces of New Leon and
New Santander. The _actual_ kingdom of New Spain was composed of the
intendancies of Mexico, Puebla, Vera Cruz, Guadalajara, Valladolid,
Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Oajaca, Merida, and San Luis, proper, and the two
Californias. In the year 1807, the "_Provincias Internas_" were divided
into _western_ and _eastern_, and two general commandancies created.
1st. The _Provincias Internas Occidentales_, or _Western_, were the
intendancies of Sonora, Durango, with Chihuahua (new Biscay); the
province of New Mexico, and the two Californias.
2d. The _Provincias Internas Orientales_, or _Eastern_, were, Coahuila,
Texas, New Santander and New Leon.
* * * * *
Such were the main territorial divisions of New Spain during the
concluding years of the Spanish government,--whilst the revolution was
in progress,--and until the nineteen provinces of the empire of Iturbide
were erected by the federal constitution of 1824 into the nineteen
States of Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Texas, Durango, Guanajuato,
Mexico, Michoacan (Valladolid), New Leon, Oajaca, Puebla, Queretaro, San
Luis Potosi, Sonora and Sinaloa, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, Jalisco
(_Guadalajara_,) Yucatan, and Zacatecas,--and the TERRITORIES of Old and
New California, Colima, New Mexico, and Tlascala. In 1830 the State of
Sinaloa and Sonora, separated into its natural divisions, since which
each has been a distinct, independent State. In 1836, the revolution
which destroyed this federal constitution, changed these STATES into
DEPARTMENTS; by which name they were recognized until the month of May,
1847, when the old federal constitution of 1824, with some amendments,
was reenacted, and the departments once more converted into states;
whilst provision was made for the creation of the new _state of
Guerrero_, to be composed of the districts of Acapulco, Chilapa, Tasco
and Talpa, and the municipality of Coyucan--the three first of which
pertain to the state of Mexico, the fourth to Puebla, and the fifth to
Michoacan,--provided these three states gave their consent within three
months from the 21st of May, 1847, at which period the act reforming the
constitution of 1824 was passed.
The war between Mexico and the United States was happily terminated by
the treaty negotiated at the town of Guadalupe, by Mr. Trist, on the 2d
of February, 1848; and, by this compact, the limit between our
respective territories was greatly changed from that which had been
fixed by the treaty with Spain in 1819. According to the convention of
Mr. Trist, the boundary between the republics commences in the Gulf of
Mexico, three leagues from land, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande,
otherwise called Rio Bravo del Norte, or opposite the mouth of its
deepest branch, if it should have more than one branch emptying directly
into the sea; from thence it passes up the middle of that river,
following the deepest channel, when it has more than one, to the point
where it strikes the southern boundary of New Mexico, thence, westerly,
along the whole southern boundary of New Mexico, which runs north of the
town of El Paso, to its western termination;--thence northward, along
the western line of New Mexico, until it intersects the first branch of
the river Gila, or, if it does not intersect any branch of that river,
then to the point on the said line nearest to such branch, and then in a
direct line to the same;--thence down the middle of the said branch and
of said river, until it empties into the Rio Colorado;--thence across
the Rio Colorado, following the division line between Upper and Lower
California, to the Pacific Ocean.
It will be perceived by inspecting the map that this new boundary cuts
off a large portion of northern Mexico, and gives us the valuable
territories of New Mexico and Upper California, together with an
undisputed right to the enjoyment of Texas, which had previously been
united to the North American confederacy by international contract,
after the independence of Texas had been recognized by foreign nations
and maintained by its own people.
The states of the Mexican Republic and its territories are,
consequently, under the existing constitution, the following:
STATES.
1. Coahuila.
2. Tamaulipas.
3. Vera Cruz.
4. Tabasco.
5. Yucatan.
6. Chiapas.
7. Oajaca.
8. Puebla.
9. Mexico, with the Federal District.
10. Michoacan.
11. Jalisco.
12. Sonora.
13. Sinaloa.
14. Chihuahua.
15. Durango.
16. New Leon.
17. Zacatecas.
18. San Luis Potosi.
19. Guanajuato.
20. Queretaro.
21. Guerrero.
TERRITORIES.
1. Lower California.
2. Colima.
3. Tlascala.
RIVERS AND LAKES OF MEXICO.
I. ON THE EASTERN COASTS.
1st. The RIO GRANDE DEL NORTE, or RIO BRAVO, which is the largest of all
Mexican streams, and rises, in about 40-1/2° north latitude, and 100°
west longitude, from Paris, in the lofty sierras which are a
continuation of the gigantic chain that forms the spine of our
continent. It pursues a southeasterly direction towards the Gulf of
Mexico, and traverses a distance of nearly eighteen hundred miles.
2d. The RIO DEL TIGRE, rises in the state of Coahuila, and passes, in a
southward and easterly direction, through the states of New Leon and
Tamaulipas, and finally, after traversing about three hundred miles,
debouches in the Gulf of Mexico.
3d. The RIO DE BORBON, or RIO BLANCO. The sources of this stream are in
New Leon, whence it runs towards the east, and, crossing the state of
Tamaulipas, falls in the LAGUNA MADRE.
4th. The RIO DE SANTANDER, rises in the state of Zacatecas, crosses the
state of San Luis Potosi, passes by Tamaulipas, winds to the north, and
falls, near the bar of Santander, into the Gulf.
5th. The RIO DE TAMPICO, is formed by the union of the rivers PANUCO and
TULA. The upper source of the PANUCO is in the neighborhood of the city
of San Luis Potosi, the capital of the state of that name. Near half a
league north north-east of this city, in the valley de la Pila, rises a
spring which is protected by a basin of fine masonry, and conveyed by an
aqueduct to town. Several other streams, coming from the south-west,
unite with this source and form the PANUCO. West of the first of these
streams, swells up the mountainous ridge which divides the waters of
Mexico between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The Panuco courses
eastwardly,--and, passing rapidly through the LAGUNA CHAIRÉL, unites
with the TULA. This latter stream mingles the waters of the rivulets
Tepexi, Tequisquiac, and Tlantla, in the northern part of the state of
Mexico; and receiving, by the canal of Huehuetoca, the water of the Rio
Quautitlan, it winds onward through the valley of Tula, and near the
limits of the states of Queretaro and Vera Cruz, until it joins the
Panuco. These united rivers receive in the state of Tamaulipas, the name
of the RIO DE TAMPICO, which debouches, finally, in the Gulf of Mexico.
6th. The RIO BLANCO rises in the state of Vera Cruz, near Aculzingo, at
the foot of Citlaltepetl, or the mountain of Orizaba. It courses onward
through a varying and rough channel among the mountains and plains,
until it is lost in the lagunes near Alvarado.
7th. The RIO DE SAN JUAN. The sources of this river lie partly in the
metallic mountains of Ixtlan, in the state of Oajaca, and partly in the
neighborhood of Tehuacan de las Granadas. Many large, but wild streams,
spring up in these mountain regions, and form the broad but shallow RIO
GRANDE DE QUIOTEPEC. This river, after winding through the valley of
Cuicatlan, receives, from the south, the large stream of LAS VUELTAS;
and all these unite to form the RIO DE SAN JUAN, which pursues its
eastern course until it approaches the coast near Alvarado, when it
divides into two arms. One of these, named TECOMATE, joining the
COSOMALOAPAN and PASO, form the large lagunes of TEQUIAPA and
EMBARCADÉRO,--whilst the other arm, by a different course, also
debouches in the same lagunes.
8th. The RIO DE GUASACUALCO, rises at about 16° 58´ of north latitude,
and 96° 19´ west longitude, from Paris, in the mountains of Tarifa, and
pours onward towards the east, receiving accessions from a great number
of small mountain streams and rivulets, until it falls into the Gulf of
Mexico.
9th. The RIO DE TABASCO, or RIO DE GRIJALVA, or RIO GUICHULA, rises in
the mountains of Cuchumatlanes towards the centre of Guatemala, and
falls into the gulf at the port of Tabasco.
10th. The RIO DE USUMASINTA, rises also in Guatemala, and debouches in
the LAGUNA DE TERMINOS.
II. SMALL EASTERN COAST STREAMS.
RIO GARCES.
RIO DE TUSPAN.
RIO DE CAZONES.
RIO DE TENISTEPEC.
RIO DE JAJALPAM, or TECOLUTLA.
RIO DE NAUTLA.
RIO DE TLAPACOYAN.
RIO DE PALMAR.
RIO DE MIZANTLA.
RIO DE MAGUILMANAPA.
RIO DE YEGUASCALCO.
RIO DE ACTOPAN.
RIO DE CHUCHALACA.
RIO DE SAN ANGEL.
RIO DE SAN CARLOS.
RIO ANTIGUA.
RIO DE JAMAPA, or MEDELLIN
RIO AQUIVILCO.
RIO DE TONALA.
RIO DE SANTA ANNA.
RIO DE CAPILCO.
RIO DE DOS BOCAS.
RIO DE CHILTEPEC.
RIO DE SABOJA.
RIO DE CHAMPOTON.
RIO DE CHEN.
RIO DE ESCATALLO.
RIO DE SAN FRANCISCO.
RIO DE SILAN.
RIO CEDROS.
RIO CONIL.
RIO BOLINO.
RIO NUEVO.
RIO BACALAR.
RIO DE LA ASCENSION.
RIO SAN JOSÉ.
RIO HONDO.
Many of these streams are, in fact, not entitled to the name of rivers,
though a few of them are important, whilst all are valuable to some
extent for agriculture, transportation, irrigation, or occasional water
power.
III. RIVERS ON THE WEST AND SOUTH COAST OF MEXICO.
1st. RIO DE CHIMALAPA, sometimes called also, RIO DE CHICAPA, rises in
the forests and mountains of Tarifa in about 16° 43´ north, 96° 33´ west
from Paris, and debouches in the Pacific, after passing the village of
Tehuantepec. The rivers OBSTULA, NILTEPEC or ESTEPEC,--DE LOS PERROS or
JUCHUITAN, ARENAS, LAGARTERO, OTATES, are small coast streams falling
into the lagunes that border the ocean.
2d. The RIO DE TEHUANTEPEC is formed by the union of two streams, one of
which rises about fifty leagues west north-west of Tehuantepec, near the
village of San Dionisio, whilst the other springs from the mountains of
Lyapi and Quiégolani, in the lands of the Chontales. The two unite seven
leagues north-west of Tehuantepec; and, passing by the village of that
name, this river finally pours into the Pacific, near the small port of
Las Ventosas.
3d. The RIO VERDE rises in the Upper Misteca, eight leagues north of
Oajaca, and falls west of the Cerro de la Plata and of the Lagunas of
Chacahua, into the Pacific. On the coast of Oajaca there are many
smaller streams and rivulets, such as the CHACALAPA, the MANIALTEPEC,
the COLOTEPEC, the SANTA HELENA, the CAPUTITA, the COMUN, the AYUTLA,
the CHICOMETEPEC and the TECOYAMA,--the last of which is the boundary
between the states of Oajaca and Puebla.
4th. The RIO DE TLASCALA, or RIO DE PAPAGALLO, has its source in the
vicinity of the town of Tlascala, in the mountain Atlancatepetl; passes
through the state of Puebla, receives the RIO MEZCALA, out of the state
of Mexico, and enters the Pacific south of the village of Ayulta.
5th. The RIO DE ZACATULA, or RIO BALSAS, originates in the valley of
Istla, in the state of Mexico, and after winding west south-westerly, it
receives the RIOS ZITACUARO, de CHURUMUCO, and del MARQUEZ out of the
state of Michoacan, and passes into the Pacific.
6th. RIO DE AZTALA rises two leagues south-west of the village of
Coalcoman, receives the AGAMILCO, MARUATO and CHICHUCUA, and flows into
the sea between Cachan and Chocóla.
7th. RIO DE TOLOTLAN, RIO GRANDE DE SANTIAGO. This is one of the longest
and most important of Mexican rivers, formed by the junction of the LAXA
and LERMA, near Salamanca, in the state of Guanajuato, and falls into
the Pacific near San Blas after a course of about two hundred leagues.
The Rio Bayóna or Cañas is an important stream on the coast near the
boundary between Jalisco and Sinaloa.
8th. The RIO DE CULIACAN rises in the north of the state of Durango,
where it is called RIO SANZEDA, thence it takes its course towards the
north-west, receiving some smaller streams, and then passing by the town
of Culiacan, falls into the Gulf of California. The RIO DE ROSARIO, RIO
DE MAZATLAN, debouche in the same gulf. The rivers PIASTLA, ELOTA,
TAVALA, EMAYA, MOCORITO, SINALOA or OCRONI, AHOME, are small streams on
the coast of Sinaloa.
9th. The RIO DEL FUERTE has its source in the metalliferous mountains of
Batopilas and Uruachi, in the state of Chihuahua, where it is known as
the river BATOPILAS. It takes a westerly course across the state of
Sinaloa about 27° north;--it receives a number of other streams, on the
western slope of a range of the Cordilleras, and finally flows into the
California Gulf.
10th. The RIO MAYO is the boundary stream between the states of Sinaloa
and Sonora; at its mouth in the Gulf of California is the small port of
Santa Cruz de Mayo, or Guitivis.
11th. The RIO HIAQUI, or YAQUI, rises on the west slope of the Sierra
Madre, near the village Matatiche in the state of Chihuahua, whence its
course is west south-west, across the state of Sonora; it receives the
RIO GRANDE DE BAVISPE which rises in the state of Chihuahua, and also
the RIOS OPOSURA and CHICO, and, finally, is lost in the Gulf of
California, at about 27° 37´ north latitude.
12th. RIO DE GUAYAMAS. This river rises at San José de Pimas, in
latitude 28° 26´ north, its course is west south-west, and its mouth in
the Californian Gulf, at the fine and favorite harbor of San-Jose de
Guayamas in latitude 27° 40´.
13th. The RIO DE LA ASCENSION rises at about 31° 40´ north and 112° 37´
west longitude. On its south-westerly course it receives the tributary
waters of the RIO DE SAN IGNACIO and falls at about 30° 20´ north into
the Gulf of California.
14th. RIO DE COLORADO. This important stream is formed of the river
RAFAEL in about 40° 15´ north, and 110° 50´ west longitude from Paris,
on the western declivity of the Sierra de las Grullas, whence it takes
a south-west course and receives, at the foot of the Monte de Sal Gemme,
the RIO DE NUESTRA SEÑORA DE DOLORES, which springs about 1° 30´ west of
the RAFAEL, in the Cerro de la Plata; and, thus, receiving the
accretions of a number of other streams, it courses onward until it is
lost at the head of the Gulf of California. The whole length of the
COLORADO is estimated at about two hundred and fifty leagues. For about
fifty leagues it is navigable by small sea going vessels; and, for about
a hundred leagues higher, it may be traversed by large boats. The sea is
said to ebb and flow between thirty-five and forty leagues beyond the
mouth of this river. The sources of the ARKANSAS and of the RIO GRANDE
DEL NORTE lie very near those of the COLORADO; so that the waters of the
Gulf of Mexico and of the Gulf of California are nearly united by these
streams across our continent.
15th. The RIO GILA rises in the Sierra de los Mimbres, and descends to
the south, through a small and mountain bound valley until it unites
with the Colorado.
IV. LAKES, LAGUNES, &c.
1. TIMPANOGOS and TEYUGO or SALADO.
2. LAGUNAS DE BAVISPE, SAN MARTIN, DE GUZMAN, DE PATOS, DE ENCINILLAS
and DE CASTILLA in the state of Chihuahua.
3. The LAGUNA DE CAYMAN in the BOLSON DE MAPIMI.
4. The LAKES of PARRAS and AGUA VERDE on the west boundary of Coahuila.
5. The LAKES of CHARCAS, CHAIREL and CHILA in the state of San Luis
Potosi.
6. Nine small SODA LAKES in Zacatecas.
7. The large and important LAKE OF CHAPALA and others in Jalisco.
8. PAZCUARO, CUIZCO, ARARON, HUANGO, TANGUATO, and HUANIQUO in
Michoacan.
9. The five large LAKES of TEZCOCO, CHALCO, XOCHIMILCO, SAN CRISTOVAL
and ZUMPANGO in the valley of Mexico.
10. The LAKES of ATENCO, COATETILCO, and TENANCINGO in the valley of
Toluca.
11. A number of small ones in Oajaca.
12. The LAKES of TAMPICO, CATEMACO, ALIJOYUCA, TENANGO, CHIAPA on the
gulf coast or near it.
13. The LAKE of YURIRAPUNDARO in Guanajuato.