CHAPTER XIII._Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol. 2 of 2 A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of that Country from the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time.

REFLECTIONS UPON THE REPUBLIC.

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.

Every reader who has accompanied us thus far in studying the history,

geography, resources, and character of Mexico, will scarcely require to

be told why it is that the nation has continued disorganized and become

impoverished in the midst of such abundance as has been lavished upon it

by the beneficence of God. At the conclusion of our chapter upon the

commerce of Mexico we described the remarkable geographical position of

the territory, and have shown that, by the laws of nature, it ought to

enjoy a controlling influence in the affairs of the world. And yet

almost three centuries and a half have rolled over since Cortéz planted

the Spanish banner on the palaces of Tenochtitlan, and still the

question may be asked whether the region is more progressive under

republican and royal rule than under Aztec sway? The world has advanced

in commerce, manufactures, science, literature and arts, but Mexico has

remained comparatively fixed in the midst of a stagnant

semi-civilization. She has not exhibited a true warlike character either

in her domestic broils or in her opposition to a foreign invader, though

her soil has been converted into a camp for nearly forty years. She has

confessed her manifold errors by her indemnities and her diplomacy,

though she has contrived to invite quarrels, discussions and affronts by

an aggressive demeanor towards sojourners in her territory. A religious

country by the protective sanction of all her constitutions, still she

denies the right of conscientious worship to all who come within her

borders. With a military police, and an immense array of judicial

officers, her cities and highways are thronged with felons while the

disputes of her citizens linger undecided for years in her courts. Her

domestic markets are dear, and she has but little to spare for foreign

commerce, though her soil is extraordinarily fertile and her climate

yields the fruits and grains of the temperate and tropical zones.

Throned on mines, she is a borrower at exhorbitant usury. Washed by the

two great oceans of the globe, her mariners are fishermen and her

vessels skiffs. Ready at all times to borrow from every capitalist, she

sees her opulent citizens send their wealth abroad for investment in

spite of the tempting interest she promises to pay. Boasting of faith,

she is without credit. At peace with mankind and fortified by nature,

she is forced to maintain an army either to protect her from herself or

to bribe the innumerable remnants of her military politicians into

peace. Endowed with a constitution and enjoying the name of a republic,

she beholds that constitution violated or overthrown by her army without

even demanding the consent of the people. Vaunting, in the most

grandiloquent language, her intelligence, glory and resources, she

exhibits not a single evidence of that patriotic unity and order which

would entitle her to domestic confidence and foreign respect. Owning an

extensive territory which is attractive not only for its essential

qualities but for its magnificent beauty and grandeur, she has drawn to

her shores, since the conquest, only a million of white men. Losing

Texas, which in her hands had been, for all this time, a howling

wilderness possessed by beasts and savages, she sees that state become,

under the magic influence of another race, an independent nation, a

maritime power, a commercial territory yielding millions annually for

the trade of the world. Surrendering California as a boon for peace, she

beholds in a single year, the sands that had been trodden by her own

people for several centuries, turn to gold in the developing hand of the

energetic emigrants to whom it was given up. Impoverished, haughty,

uneducated, defiant, bigoted, disputatious, without financial credit,

beaten in arms, far behind the age in mechanical progress or social

civilization and loaded with debt, Mexico presents a spectacle in the

nineteenth century, which moves the compassion of reflective men even if

it does not provoke the cupidity of other races to wrest from her weak

grasp a region whose value she neither comprehends nor develops. This

compassion is the result of a genuine sympathy with the true patriots

who really love their country and know its worth, but whose numbers are

too few to cope with the scandalous intriguers and ambitious soldiers by

whom the nation has hitherto been converted into a gambling table and

its money and offices into prizes.

In the introductory chapters upon the viceroyal government and

revolution of Mexico, and in our remarks upon the growth of parties at

the close of the war of independence, we have endeavored to exhibit

fairly the existing causes of trouble at those epochs.[39] There was an

apology for incapability of political self-rule when a bad government or

a degrading despotism was suddenly removed. But, since then, twenty-six

years have elapsed; and, in more than a quarter of a century, mankind is

fairly entitled to demand from Mexico a denial of the sarcasm of her

oppressive _oidor_ Bataller "that the worst punishment to be inflicted

upon the Mexicans is to allow them to govern themselves!"

Dark as is this picture of neighboring republicans, we should have been

loth to paint it had not our careful studies of their statistics and the

commentaries of their own citizens justified the sombre coloring. "For

our own part we believe,"--says Don Francisco Lerdo, in his

Considerations upon the Social and Political Condition of the Mexican

Republic in 1847,--"that all this may be explained in a few words. _In

Mexico there neither is nor can there be what is called national spirit,

because there is no nation._"[40]

This, perhaps, is the key of Mexican decadence. The national spirit is

centrifugal, if any thing can strictly be called national when citizen

is armed against citizen, and when men in civil life and politicians in

public life, are constantly seeking to aggrandize themselves either in

wealth or power without a thought of loyalty to the constitution which

should perpetuate and consolidate national unity of principle and action

in spite of all their personal ambitions or party dominations.

If we recur to our statistics in the third chapter of this volume we

shall find that, out of seven millions six hundred and twenty-six

thousand eight hundred and thirty-one inhabitants of the republic, it is

calculated that four millions three hundred thousand are Indians, that

more than two millions are either mixed bloods or negroes, and only

about one million white, while, of the whole population, not many more

than seven hundred and forty thousand are to be regarded as either

educated or at all instructed! The most numerous class, the large

majority of Mexicans,--the Indians,--are not civilized. We make this

assertion without qualification. They are _tamed_ and have been

comparatively submissive; they are not open idolators and have generally

conformed, according to their limited understanding and instruction, to

the direction of the Catholic priesthood; but neither this taming nor

this conformity, considered relatively to their general demeanor,

constitute civilization either under a monarchy or a republic. The

Indians, therefore, regarded as a political or social element in a

democracy, are not fairly to be valued as integral constituencies of the

Mexican _republic_. We have already delineated the character of this

class and will not recapitulate the points of sluggish indifference

which forbid the hope of its elevation. Less savage than the North

American red man and hunter, the Mexican Indian is only dwarfed in

energy and in the expression of passion, by the emasculating influence

of the climate. In all other respects he resembles the tenant of our

western forests and will neither willingly mingle with us, adopt our

habits, nor labor for others upon a soil which spontaneously supplies

his wants. In his passive state he is content with imitation; in his

aroused anger he rushes blindly and vindictively into danger, and is

willing to die rather for revenge than for right. Is it not folly then

to ask this class to comprehend the representative system? Nor can we

justly expect its comprehension and correspondent adherence or practice

from the unenlightened Mixed Races, especially when those races do not

derive their origin, exclusively, from pure white stocks, but are formed

by a medly mosaic of Indian, African, Oriental and Spanish. The hope of

Mexico must, therefore, repose in the whites alone; and, on this class

we might confidently rely as the nucleus around which future numbers and

civilization would gather, if we found them orderly, free, united and

firm in adherence to their constitution modified by the indispensable

addition of religious liberty and the speedy as well as inflexible

administration of justice. But, in this small class, we have the most

serious difficulties to contend with, for, without constitutional

recognition, the officers of the army, the hierarchy, and the intriguing

politicians, form three distinct powerful bodies who must blend in

perfect union for mutual support, or must be content to see the country

involved in civil war if they differ.

We have already noticed the origin and continuance of the army's

influence, and the natural despotic tendencies of that class. It

represents Force. It is, moreover, a historical fact, that the Mexican

church does not confine itself to matters of faith, but, as the richest

national proprietor and as the comptroller of conscience by virtue of

the constitution, has constantly quitted the cloister to fight in the

arena of politics. Nor was its weapon weak, for it was armed with

Superstition. Wielding the bolts of spiritual thunder in a nation in

which no other religion is tolerated or known; possessing the power of

discovery by confession, and of control by penance, excommunication,

anathemas, and ecclesiastical interdicts; ruling the soul without

appeal, and grasping the purse, it will be at once seen what a powerful

element of influence such an institution must become when directed by a

single head. If the masses would prey upon the church, it was the policy

of the church to support the army; if the people desired to destroy the

army, it was the interest of the army to support a church which could

control by conscience or bribe by money the miscalled representatives of

the people.[41] With force and superstition, thus welded together by

interest, the representative system can expect but little favor from

these two important divisions of the white race.

Is there hopeful reliance, then, upon another power which is controlled

by a portion of the educated whites? The Liberty of the Press, in Mexico

has disappointed its warmest advocates. An instrument which should ever

be used for the enlightenment of the multitude has been employed only to

demoralize and deceive it. Instead of attacking bravely all abuses of

administration and all international prejudices, or weaknesses; instead

of holding the executive departments to strict accountability before the

chambers and the people; instead of displaying frankly the vital

interests and materials of social reorganization, and thus contributing

to the common prosperity and peace of the country, the periodical press

of Mexico, with few honorable exceptions, has fostered the meanest

passions and hatreds of the ignorant masses and has betrayed public

opinion by trafficking with or truckling to the men or the classes who

live by public abuses and disorder.[42] Instead of checking and

thwarting the interference of the church in civil affairs, it has stood

mute or appalled before the ecclesiastical power. If there is no

reliance, therefore, on the press, what available trust may be reposed

in the pure, civil patriots, men of letters, professional characters,

merchants and proprietors? The slender numbers of this class, compared

with the army, church, Empleados or government _employées_, and

intriguing civilians connected either with the state in its various

departments of _finance_, or with the press, at once deprive it of

equality in influence. In all the turns of fortune in Mexico, these men

have, hitherto, never been able to command the country for any length of

time so as to give a permanent beneficial direction to public affairs,

and we may, therefore, readily agree with Lerdo in believing that his

country possesses no elements of nationality. He might have gone further

in his analysis, and declared that there was no nationality because

there was no PEOPLE; for who will dignify with that republican name such

discordant and heterogeneous materials of races, characters, politics

and purposes. A PEOPLE is not a mere aggregation of human beings. A

nation, in the true sense of nationality, is only a great family, for

whose strength and power it is necessary that all its individual members

should be intimately united by the bonds of interest, sympathy and

affection. Such a nation may form a government, but it is difficult for

a government to form such a nation. And this was the peculiarly

fortunate position of our North American states at the period of

Independence, for we had no political and social revolution to effect.

Our people and our government grew up together. At the close of the war

the United States were poor. The military men had enjoyed no revenue

from their services but personal honor. They were badly fed, paid and

clothed. There was no rich, ready made prize to be seized by ambitious

or avaricious men in the gorged treasury of a nation. All were

essentially equal because all were equally forced to work for

livelihood. There was no recognized class in government or society. We

were all of one blood, and did not fall into the error of amalgamation

with Indians and negroes. We were controlled by reason and not governed

by passions or instincts. We had nothing but liberty and space; soil and

freedom. Our soldiers were rewarded with land; but that land was in the

wilderness and exacted toil to make it productive; and thus, compulsory

industry diverted the minds of our political founders from those

ambitious enterprises, which by the aid of the military have so long

degraded Mexico. Conquest and rapid Fruition,--was the maxim of Spain;

Occupation and Development,--the policy of England. The eager Iberian

was prompt and headlong in the adventurous life of discovery. The

cautious Anglo Saxon followed in his steps, ready to glean and replant

the fields that had been hardly reaped of their virgin harvests.

* * * * *

We have endeavored to analyze candidly the condition of the Mexican

republic, and, in performing the disagreeable task we have been guided

not only by our own personal observations in the country, but by the

argumentative criticisms of native writers. Having ascertained the

disease it is our duty to seek the remedy. The obvious policy of Mexico,

under existing circumstances, is to exhibit a firm, constitutional,

orderly, peaceful aspect, which, together with her manifold allurements

of soil, climate, and geographical situation, will gradually attract to

her shores the eager multitudes who are seeking a new home in America.

Emigration is the overflowing of a bitter cup. Men do not ordinarily

leave the land of their birth, the home of their infancy, their parents,

friends and companions, for the untried hazards of a land in which there

is no community of laws, habits, and language, unless poverty and bad

government force them into the wilderness. They depart to better their

lot. They must have the assurance, therefore, of their rights in

property and personal liberty guarantied by stable laws promptly

administered by incorruptible judges. Such meritorious emigrants will

not populate Mexico unless she demonstrates her capacity for order and

security; and, without these accessions, we have shown that Mexico never

will, as she does not now, possess a republican PEOPLE. She must

cultivate the _civil_ idea; she must abandon her military parade; she

must discard her habitual bombast and grandiloquence; she must banish

the despots who have debauched and plundered her; she must reform her

social life and learn to believe that there are other pleasures worthy

the notice of men besides gambling, bull baiting and cock fighting; and,

above all, she must establish religious liberty. It is an absurd idea

that nationality can be preserved by enforcing Catholicity by virtue of

the constitution. The Roman church must consent to share this

earth,--the patrimony of mankind,--with other believers and spiritual

laborers. It cannot monopolize the soil, even if it can control the

faith. The day of monoply is gone,--that of individuality has come, and

there can be no good government that is not founded on tolerant

Christianity, which is the creed of Love, the enemy of Force, the

founder of true Democracy.[43]

When an orderly and firm government shall have been established, Mexico

will be refreshed continually by the energizing blood of a hardy,

industrious and enterprising white race from beyond the sea. Germany

will send her sons and daughters; Ireland, France, England, Italy and

Spain will contribute theirs. The various nations, mingling slowly by

marriage with the white Mexicans, will amalgamate and neutralize each

other into homogeneous nationality. Mexico may thus gradually congregate

A PEOPLE. The language of the country will, in all likelihood, be

preserved; for the white natives who now speak Spanish will of course

form, for many years, the bulk of the population, and when they die,

their offspring and the offspring of the emigrants will know but one

tongue. There will thus be no violent extirpation of races; but a slow

and genial modification. Modern inventions, arts, tastes, science,

emulation, new forms of thought, new modes of development, will be

introduced and implanted by these emigrants. The million of white men,

and the two millions of mestizos, will become more prosperous under the

increased trade and industry of the nation. A good government will be

ensured, for the hardy emigrants fly from the political oppression and

poverty of the old world to enjoy peaceful _liberty_ in this.

There is nothing in this scheme of progress to which a good man or a

republican can object, and if Mexico is sincere in her professions of

democracy, and not merely anxious to preserve intact the fragments of a

ruined Spanish colony, _without a people and without nationality_, she

will imitate the example of the United States and welcome to her vallies

and mountains all who are willing to approach her in the name of order,

labor, and liberty. But if she stubbornly adheres to her stupid

self-seclusion, and bars the portals of her splendid empire with the

revolutionary impediments that are annually scattered over the republic,

she will break the beautiful promise given to humanity in the success of

her revolution;

"Something there was in her life incomplete, imperfect, unfinished,

As if a morning in June with all its music and sunshine,

Suddenly paused in the sky, and fading slowly descended

Into the east again, from whence it late had arisen!"

LONGFELLOW'S EVANGELINE.

BOOK V.

THE MEXICAN STATES AND TERRITORIES; THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS,

CITIES, TOWNS, PRODUCTIONS, MINES, GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS, ANTIQUITIES,

ETC.

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.

In treating this branch of our subject we have followed the order

adopted by Mühlenpfordt in his "Republik Mejico," and acknowledge the

important assistance we have derived from the careful, minute and

laborious personal researches made by that industrious German author

relative to the geography of Mexico. Since the publication of his

volumes, in which he had been greatly aided by the previous works of

Humboldt, Ward, Burkhardt and other explorers during the present

century, the Mexican government has organized a Statistical Commission,

whose investigations have been published in a series of Bulletins, and

to these we are indebted for recent authentic information about some of

the most interesting portions of Mexico. The northern regions,

meanwhile, have been illustrated by the explorations of Frémont, Abert,

Emory, Wislizenius, Cooke, Simpson, and other officers of the American

Government; but as most of the territory examined by them has become the

property of the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe, their labors

are not of importance in describing the Republic of Mexico as at present

bounded. In the last Book of this work, however, which we have devoted

to the consideration of California and New Mexico, we shall recur to

those brave and scientific explorers of a remote region, so recently a

wilderness, but which their labors, and the combined fortune of war and

mineral wealth have subdued for the benefit of mankind.

In accordance with the plan proposed in the separate consideration of

the several States and Territories of Mexico, we shall divide them into

three groups:--those on the eastern or Gulf coast; those on the western

or Pacific coast, and those in the interior.

I.--EASTERN OR GULF COAST.

The State of Yucatan. The State of Vera Cruz.

" State of Chiapas. " State of Tamaulipas.

" State of Tabasco.

II.--WESTERN OR PACIFIC COAST.

The State of Oajaca. The State of Jalisco.

" State of Puebla. " Territory of Colima.

" Territory of Tlascala. " State of Sinaloa.

" State of Mexico and Federal " State of Sonora.

District. " State of Guerrero.

The State of Michoacan. " Territory of L. California.

III.--INTERIOR.

The State of Queretaro. The State of New Leon.

" State of Guanajuato. " State of Coahuila.

" State of Zacatecas. " State of Durango.

" State of San Luis Potosi. " State of Chihuahua.

THE STATE OF YUCATAN.

The State of Yucatan, sometimes known by the name of Merida or Campeché,

occupies the greater portion of the peninsula which bounds the southern

edge of the Gulf of Mexico. Its eastern side is washed by the Caribbean

Sea, and touched by the settlements at Balize; on the south it is

bounded by Guatemala; on the west by the Gulf of Mexico and the States

of Chiapas and Tabasco, from which it is separated by the river Paicutun

that falls into the Laguna de Terminos. Its northern coast extends from

Cape Catoché to the Punta de Piedras, about eighty-six leagues; and the

whole area of the State is computed at 3,823 square leagues.

Yucatan possesses very few streams and none of importance that are known

or explored. On the west of the peninsula, debouching into the Gulf of

Mexico, there are the rivers or rivulets of Escatalto, Chen,

Champoton;--the San Francisco falls into the Bay of Campeché; in the

north there are the Silan, the Cedros, and the Conil; while the streams

of Bolina, the Rio Nuevo, the Bacalar, the Ascension, and the Honda or

Rio Grande pour into the Caribbean Sea. In 1841 the population of the

State is stated in a census, taken by order of the government, as

follows:

Departments. Men. Women. Total.

Merida, 48,606 58,663 107,269

Izamal, 32,915 37,933 70,848

Tekax, 58,127 64,697 122,824

Valladolid, 45,353 46,926 92,279

Campeché, 39,017 40,639 79,656

------- ------- -------

Total, 224,018 248,858 472,876

This census, although it professes to be accurate, may nevertheless be

incomplete, inasmuch as the inhabitants of Yucatan, dreading new

contributions and detesting military service, endeavor to reduce as much

as possible the number of their families in the lists prepared for

government. Besides this, it does not appear to comprehend _all_ the

departments according to Mühlenpfordt, who divides the State into

fifteen departments.[44] The population has been estimated by some

careful writers, acquainted with the people and the country, at 525,000

souls; in our table of population on page 42 of this volume, we have on

good authority stated the number to be, in 1842, 508,948, while others

have increased the number to 600,000 and even to 630,000, which amount

is assigned to Yucatan by a census in 1833! The last mentioned number

will give about 165 individuals to each square league.[45]

* * * * *

The character and quality of the productions of Yucatan may be estimated

by the following statistical table, which has been translated and

published by Mr. Stephens in the first volume of his Incidents of Travel

in that State.

TABLE OF STATISTICS OF YUCATAN

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISTRICTS. | PRINCIPAL PLACES. |PARISHES.|VILLAGES|

| | |ANNEXED.| PRODUCTIONS.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Capital |Merida | 4 | 5 | Horned cattle, horses, mules, tallow, jerked beef, leather, salt, gypsum, hemp, raw and

| | | | manufactured, straw hats, guitars, cigars, and extract of logwood.

| | | |

Campeché |City of Campeché | 2 | " | Salt, logwood, rice, sugar, and marble of good quality.

Lerma |Village of Lerma | 3 | 8 | Logwood, timber, rice, and fish oil.

Valladolid |City of Valladolid | 11 | 17 | Cotton, sugar, starch, gum copal, tobacco, cochineal, saffron, vanilla, cotton fabrics,

| | | | yarns, &c., wax, honey, castor oil, horned cattle, hogs, and skins.

Coast |City of Izamal | 16 | 27 | Horned cattle, horses, mules, tallow, jerked beef, castor oil, hides, wax, honey, timber,

| | | | indigo, hemp, raw and manufactured, straw cigars, barilla, and salt.

The Upper Highlands |City of Tekax | 9 | 7 | Horned cattle, horses, mules, hogs, sheep, skins, sugar, molasses, timber, rice, tobacco in

| | | | the leaf and manufactured, spirits, arrow-root, straw hats, cotton lace, ochre, flints,

| | | | and grindstones.

The Lower Highlands |Village of Teabo | 8 | 5 |Horned cattle, horses, mules, hogs, sheep, skins, tallow, dried beef, hemp, raw and

| | | | manufactured, and cotton lace.

The Upper Royal Road |Town of Jequelchakan | 6 | 11 |Cattle, horses, mules, skins, tallow, dried beef, logwood, tobacco, sugar, and rum.

The Lower Royal Road |Village of Maxcanú | 5 | 7 |Horned cattle, horses, mules, oil of palma Cristi, tobacco, hemp, and fine straw hats.

The Upper "Beneficios"|Village of Ichmul | 7 | 15 |Sugar, molasses, rum, tobacco of good quality, rice, laces, pepper, gum copal, sarsaparilla,

| | | | hats, hammocks, ebony, barilla, gypsum, and skins.

The Lower "Beneficios"|Village of Sotuta | 6 | 16 |Horned cattle, horses, mules, hogs, skins, tallow, and dried beef.

Tizimin |Village of Tizimin. | 7 | 18 |Tortoise-shell, skins, timber, logwood, India-rubber, incense, tobacco, achiote (a substitute

| | | | for saffron, and a very rich dye), starch from the yuca, cotton, wax, honey,

| | | | molasses, sugar, rum, castor oil, salt, amber, vanilla, hogs, cochineal.

Island of Cármen |Town of Cármen | 2 | 1 |Logwood.

Seiba-playa |Village of Seiba-playa| 3 | 6 |Timber, rice, logwood, and salt.

Bacalar |Town of Bacalar | 2 | " |Logwood, valuable timber, sugar of inferior quality, tobacco of the best description,

| | | | rum, a fine species of hemp, known under the name of pita, resin, India-rubber, gum

| | | | copal, pimento, sarsaparilla, vanilla, and gypsum.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total | 15 | 91 | 143 |

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Illustration: CAMPECHE.]

The principal towns of Yucatan, are, 1st: the capital, MERIDA, in the

northern part of the state, about ten leagues from the coast, containing

a population of near 15,000 individuals. Its port is the small haven of

Sisal, which is in reality nothing but a bleak roadstead, protected by a

fort and a sand bank.

2nd: SAN FRANCISCO DE CAMPECHÉ, with a population of about 9,000;--a

port which is considered by navigators one of the best in the state, yet

is by no means, a secure or comfortable anchorage.

3rd: VALLODOLID, the chief town of the district of that name, with near

4,000 inhabitants.

4th: San Felipé de Bacalar, or Salamanca; a town and military post in

the district of that name, containing a garrison and about one hundred

and twenty houses.

Besides these, there are the villages of Xampolan, Jequetchacan, Lerma,

Champoton, between the rivers Campeché and Champoton on the west coast,

and Silan, Santa Clara, Vigia del rio and Chaboána, on the north coast.

In the interior there are many Indian villages.

The Island of Cozumel on the east coast of Yucatan--which was the first

land discovered by the Spaniards in their voyage to Mexico,--is now

almost uninhabited, and contains some ancient remains, which are

probably the ruins of the splendid structures that attracted the

attention of the adventurers, and satisfied them they had reached a land

which was sufficiently civilized to be worthy their exploration and

plunder.

It has generally been supposed that Yucatan affords no safe harbors or

anchorages, which would either tempt commercial enterprise to her

shores, or afford vessels of war sufficient protection so as to render

the peninsula valuable in a military point of view. Yet it seems from an

official copy of a recent British survey of the coast of Yucatan, which

is to be found in the office of our Coast Survey in Washington, that

there is a fine harbor for vessels of any size under the island of

Mugeres, the easternmost point of Yucatan, where they may ride at anchor

in safety, protected from winds in every direction. The harbors of

Ascension and Espiritu Bay, are represented as good; the latter being

capable of holding a fleet of the heaviest kind of English frigates and

war steamers. There is good anchorage, moreover, off the north-east

point of the island of Cozumel.[46]

THE STATE OF CHIAPAS.

This state has been very inadequately examined. It is bounded north by

Tabasco; south and south-west by the Republic of Central America, or

Guatemala; west by the state of Vera Cruz and by a small part of Oajaca;

and on the east partly by Yucatan and partly by Guatemala. Until the

year 1833 the territory comprised in this division belonged to

Guatemala, when it joined the Mexican confederacy. Comprehending the

northern declivities of the Cordilleras and table lands of Central

America, Chiapas is, throughout a considerable part of its territory,

cut up into successions of ridges and valleys, which are rich in many of

the finest tropical productions. Corn, cacao, sugar and garden

vegetables are produced readily. Tobacco of good quality grows in the

district of Sandoval, and in the neighborhood of Oajaca. In the district

of Tonalá, a small quantity of indigo of an extraordinarily fine quality

is cultivated; and here, also, pepper and the maguey plant are yielded

plentifully. Ananas, sapotes, bananas, figs, apricots and various

similar fruits abound in Chiapas, while in its forests, oaks, cedar,

mahogany, ebony, and other valuable woods are found in considerable

quantities. But the greater part of this fruitful state is still an

unknown waste, which the labors of other races must fully explore and

develop.

Chiapas is divided into four departments and nine districts, which,

together, possess 92 parishes.

1st: The Department of the Centre, with 12 parishes, besides the capital

of Ciudad-Real, or San Cristoval de los Llanos and the town of Chamúla.

2nd: The Department of the South, with 10 parishes, in the district of

Llanos, 11 in Ocozingo, and 17 in Tuxtla.

3rd: The Department of the West, with the district of Ystocomitan,

containing 17 parishes; Tonalá, 3 parishes; and Palenque, 4 parishes.

4th: The Department of the North, with the districts of Tila, containing

6 parishes, and Simojoval, 12 parishes.

The chief towns are, CIUDAD-REAL, or SAN CRISTOVAL DE LOS LLANOS; a fine

town with about 6,000 inhabitants, possessing a cathedral church, four

convents for monks, and one for nuns, two chapels, and a hospital. The

first bishop of Chiapas, who erected the see of that name in 1538, was

the renowned Bartoloméo de las Casas, whose fame is so intimately

connected with the early history of the country, by his constant and

merciful interference in behalf of the Indians.

The other important towns are San Juan Chamúla, containing 4,000

inhabitants; San Bartoloméo de los Llanos, whose 7,000 people are

chiefly engaged in the cultivation of cotton, sugar, tobacco and corn;

San Domingo Comitlan; San Jacinto Ocozingo, with 3,000 inhabitants who

devote themselves to the care of cattle, and cultivate some cacao and

corn; Tuxtla, with 5,000 inhabitants who trade in tobacco and cacao; San

Domingo Sinacantan, on the borders of Tabasco in the territory of the

Zoques, with 2,500 inhabitants who employ themselves in the culture of

silk, of which they weave shawls and other similar fabrics, which are

esteemed of a good merchantable quality, and are used in the country or

adjacent states; Chiapa de los Indios; Tecpatlan; Ostoacan; Teopixca;

Acapala; Capanabastla; Izcuintenango; San Fernando Guadalupe; and

Simojovél.

Chiapas is represented to be rich in rivers which rise chiefly in the

highlands towards the state of Tabasco and debouche into the Mexican

Gulf. The Tabasco river or the Rio de Grijalva; the Usumasinta, the

Chicsoi or the Santa Isabella;--the Machaquita, San Pedro, Dolores,

Yalchitan, Chacamas, Zeldales, Yeixhihujat, Chatlan, and some others;

the Pacaitún or Paicutun; the laguna de Chiapa; some mineral waters; and

a valuable salt spring in the vicinity of San Mateo, enrich various

portions of this fertile state, whose climate, especially in its higher

regions, is said to be delicious and uniform. The number of the

population of this state is not officially known. In 1831, a census made

by order of the governor Ignacio Gutierrez, which however, did not

include fifteen parishes, gave 118,775 inhabitants for the rest of the

state. An estimate in a Mexican calendar of 1833 represents the number

to be about 96,000, while the government calculation for a basis of

representation in Congress in 1842, gives it 141,206, to which about 10

per cent. should be added to give the proximate population in 1850. The

Indian tribes of the Zoques, Cendales or Zeldales, Teochiapanécos and

Mames are still very numerous, and, of course, form the greater part of

the population.

ANCIENT REMAINS IN YUCATAN AND CHIAPAS.

The physical description of these two States, presented in the preceding

pages, will have satisfied the reader that they possess a prolific soil

and an agreeable climate which would probably attract a large population

had they been properly explored and developed by an energetic race. We

are sustained in this belief by the fact, that in these States

travellers have found the most remarkable remains of an advanced ancient

civilization hitherto discovered on our continent. What has existed may

exist again under the benignant influence of modern progress; nor is it

improbable that as human interests direct the attention of maritime or

emigrating nations towards the central portions of the western

continent, Yucatan and Chiapas may again become the seat of a population

even larger than that which thronged it during the palmy days anterior

to the Spanish conquest.

Since the year 1840 three important works have been published in this

country relative to these ancient remains of towns, temples, cities,

idols and monuments. Two of these are due to the pen and pencil of Mr.

John L. Stephens and Mr. Catherwood, while the other and slighter

production is the result of a hasty visit paid to Yucatan by Mr. B. M.

Norman. These three publications, plentifully illustrated by accurate

engravings of the ruins and remains, have been so widely disseminated

throughout Europe and America that readers are already familiar with

them. In the "long, irregular and devious route" pursued by Stephens and

Catherwood, they "discovered the crumbling remains of _fifty-four

ancient cities, most of them but a short distance apart_, though, from

the great change that has taken place in the country, and the breaking

up of the old roads, having no direct communication with each other.

With but few exceptions, all were lost, buried and unknown, never before

visited by a stranger, and some of them, perhaps, never looked upon by

the eyes of a white man." Leaving Guatemala, the travellers encountered,

in Chiapas, remarkable remains at Ocozingo and Palenque; and passing

thence into Yucatan, in their second journey to those central regions,

they explored and described the architectural and monumental relics at

Maxcanu, Uxmal, Sacbey, Xampon, Sanacte, Chunhuhu, Labpahk, Iturbide,

Mayapan, San Francisco, Ticul, Nochacab, Xoch, Kabah, Sabatsche, Labna,

Kenick, Izamal, Saccacal, Tekax, Akil, Mani, Macoba, Becanchen, Peto,

Chichen, in the interior; and at Tuloom, Tancar, and in the Island of

Cozumel on the eastern coast.

The simple catalogue of these names, indicating the sites of ancient

civilization in the midst of what is at present almost an unexplored

wilderness and covering so wide a field of observation, will satisfy the

reader that it is impossible to condense a satisfactory review of these

architectural remains within the space that we are enabled to

appropriate to antiquarian researches. The ruins of Palenque in Chiapas,

and of Uxmal and Chichen in Yucatan, are, perhaps, the most wonderful

of all that have been explored hitherto in this lonely region; and,

while we regret that our duty to the living present will not permit us

to dwell longer on the curious past, we shall, nevertheless pause,

occasionally, as we pass through the Mexican States, to notice those

remains which have either been visited by us personally, or are not

described in books as accessible to all classes of enquirers and

students as those of Messrs. Stephens, Catherwood and Norman. Mr.

Stephens believes, after full investigation, that these towns and cities

were occupied by the original builders and their descendants at the

period of the Spanish conquest, and our own opinion entirely coincides

with his reasoning and judgment. Those who desire a complete and

conclusive illustration of this branch of the subject will find an

excellent argument thereon in both of his publications.[47]

In the first volume of this work we have given an account of the Mexican

or Aztec Calendar; and the proximate identity of the Yucatese or Mayan

and Aztec Calendar led Mr. Stephens to the conclusion that both nations

had a common origin. This argument is also important in considering the

period of the occupation of the Chiapan and Yucatese edifices, inasmuch

as we know that the Aztecs of Montezuma's period used the Calendar which

we have already illustrated and described.

YUCATAN CALENDAR.

"Our knowledge of the Yucatan Calendar," says Mr. Gallatin,[48] "is

derived exclusively from the communications made by Don J. P. Perez to

Mr. John L. Stephens, and inserted in the appendix to the first volume

of this gentleman's Travels in Yucatan. It is substantially the same

with that of the Mexicans, though differing in some important

particulars.

"The inhabitants of Yucatan had, like the Mexicans, the two distinct

modes of computing time, by months of twenty days, and by periods of

thirteen days. They also distinguished the days of the year by a

combination of those two series, precisely similar to that of the

Mexicans. And their year likewise consisted of 365 days, viz., of

eighteen months of twenty days each, to which they added five

supplementary days; and also of a corresponding series of twenty-eight

periods of thirteen days each, and one day over. The following table

exhibits the names of the twenty days of the Yucatan month, with their

signification, as far as it has been ascertained by Don J. P. Perez; and

also the days of the Chiapa month as given by Boturini; and which, from

the similarity of the names of several of the days, appears to have been

in its origin nearly identical with that of Yucatan.

---------------------------+-------+------------+--------------+-------------

YUCATAN. |CHIAPA.| MECHOACAN. | NICARAGUA. | MEXICAN.

---------------------------+-------+------------+--------------+-------------

1 KAN yellow |Ghanan | INODON | 9 Cipat |Cipactli

2 Chicchan small |Abagh | Inic Ebi |10 Acat |Ehecatl

3 Quimi death |Tox | Inettuni |11 Cali |Calli

4 Manik wind ceasing |Moxic | Inbeari |12 Quespalcoat|Cuetzpalin

5 Lamat |LAMBAT | Inethaati |13 Migiste |Cohuatl

6 MULUC union? |Mulu | INBANI |14 Macat |Miquiztli

7 Oc palm of hand? |Elab | Inxichari |15 Toste |Mazatl

8 Chuen board |Batz | Inchini |16 At |Tochtli

9 Eb ladder |Enob | In Rini |17 Izquindi |Atl

10 Be-en |BE-EN | In Pari |18 Ocomat |Itzcuintli

11 HIX rough |Hix | INCHON |19 Malinal |Ozomatli

12 Men a mechanic |Tziquin| Inthahui |20 Acato |Malinalli

13 Quib wax |Chabin | Intzini | 1 Agat |Acatl

14 Caban |Chic | In Tzoniabi| 2 Ocelot |Ocelotl

15 Eznab |CHINAX | In Tizimbi | 3 Oat |Quauhtli

16 CA-UAC |Cahogh | INTHIHUI | 4 Cozgacoatz |Cozcaquauhtli

17 Ajau period of years|Aghual | Inixotzini | 5 Olin |Ollin

18 Imix maize? |Mox | Inichini | 6 Topecat |Tecpatl

19 Yk wind |Ygh | Ini Abi | 7 Quiauvit |Quiahuitl

20 Akbal |VOTAN | Intaniri | 8 Sochit |Xochitl

---------------------------+-------+------------+--------------+--------------

"The Calendar of the inhabitants of the independent kingdom of

Mechoacan, who spoke the Tarasca language, appears to have been similar

to that of the Mexicans; and the names of the days of their month as

stated by Veytia, are inserted in the table. The names of the days of an

ancient Mexican, or rather Toltec tribe, found in the province of

Nicaragua, have also been inserted. This, as far as we know, is the

extreme southeastern limit of the Mexican Calendar on the Pacific Ocean.

That limit on the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico may be traced as far as the

islands opposite Cape Honduras (Herrera); beyond which the shores are

still inhabited by the uncivilized Musquito Indians.

* * * * *

"The cycle of fifty-two years was also adopted in Yucatan, and the

arrangement of the years was precisely the same as in that of Mexico,

substituting only the names Khan, Muluc, Hix and Ca-uac, for Tochtli,

Acatl, Tecpatl and Calli, as appears in the following table:

+----------------------------------------+

| YUCATAN CYCLE OF 52 YEARS. |

+----+--------+--------+--------+--------+

| | 1st | 14th | 27th | 40th |

+----+--------+--------+--------+--------+

+----+--------+--------+--------+--------+

"But there was an essential difference respecting the series of the

names and numerical characters of the days, as will appear by the

following table, which shows the termination of the first year of the

cycle, and the beginning of the next ensuing years.

Year 1 Khan | 1st day of the year | 1 Khan

1st of the Cycle | 1st supplementary day | 10 do.

| 2d do. | 11 Chiccan

| 3d do. | 12 Kimi

| 4th do. | 13 Manic

| 5th do. | 1 Lamat

| |

Year 2 Muluc | 1st day of the year | 2 Muluc

2d of the Cycle | 1st supplementary day | 11 Muluc

| Last do. | 2 Be-en

| |

Year 3 Hix | 1st day of the year | 3 Hix

3d of the Cycle | 1st supplementary day | 12 do.

| Last do. | 3 Edznab

| |

Year 4 Ca-uac | 1st day of the year | 4 Ca-uac

4th of the Cycle | 1st supplementary day | 13 do.

| Last do. | 4 Akbal

| |

Year 5 Khan | 1st day of the year | 5 Khan

5th of the Cycle | 1st supplementary day | 1 do.

| Last do. | 5 Lamat

"Don J. P. Perez positively states, that the fundamental rule is never

to interrupt either of the series of names or of days. Thus, inasmuch as

the last supplementary day of the first year of the cycle (1 Khan) is 1

Lamat; and as, in the order of the days of the month, the day called

"Muluc" immediately follows the day Lamat; the ensuing year 2 Muluc

commences with the day 2 Muluc, in the same manner as the year 1 Khan

commences with the day 1 Khan. It is the same with the other years; so

that the first day of every year has the same name and numerical

character as the year itself.

"Don J. P. Perez acknowledges that amongst the few mutilated remains of

Indian manuscripts or paintings, he has not been able to discover any

trace of an intercalation, either of one day every four years, or of

thirteen days at the end of the cycle, though he presumes that they had

indubitably either the one or the other.

"The Yucatan cycle of fifty-two years, differed in no other respect from

that of the Mexicans. The combination of the two series of twenty and

thirteen days is used in the same manner in both calendars for the

purpose of distinguishing the days of the year.

"The Yucatecs differed materially from the Mexicans with regard to the

time of the solar year, when their year began. Don J. P. Perez informs

us, that the first day of the Yucatan year corresponded with the

sixteenth day of July; and that this was the day of the transit of the

sun by the zenith of a place which he does not mention. But he adds

that, for want of proper instruments, the Indians had made a mistake of

forty-eight hours. In point of fact, it is in the latitude of about

twenty-one degrees and a half that the transit of the sun by the zenith

occurs on the 16th of July; and Yucatan lies between the latitudes of

about eighteen degrees and a half and twenty-one degrees and a half. To

commence the year on the day of the transit of the sun by the zenith, is

attended with the great inconvenience, that this commencement must vary

from place to place, according to their respective latitudes. As Don J.

Pio Perez counts every year as having 365 days, and without regard to

the omitted bissextile days, it is clear that the day in the Yucatan

calendar, on which the transit of the sun by the zenith of any one place

occurs, would vary twenty days, or a whole Indian month, in the course

of eighty years. This would create such confusion that, if it be a well

ascertained fact, that the Yucatan year began on the zenith day, this

renders it highly probable that the calendar was, like that of the

Mexicans, corrected by an intercalation of thirteen days at the end of

the cycle.

* * * * *

"The names of the eighteen months of the Yucatecos, together with such

interpretations as Don Pio Perez has given us, their order and their

correspondence with our year, new style, appear in the following table:

TABLE OF YUCATESE MONTHS.

1 Pop, Poop | Mat of Reeds | begins on 16th July, N. S.

2 Uo | Frog | " 5 August

3 Zip | Tree | " 25 "

4 Zodz | Bat | " 14 September

5 Zec | | " 4 October

6 Xul | End | " 24 "

7 Dzeyaxkin | Summer | " 13 November

8 Mol | To unite | " 3 December

9 Chen | A Well | " 23 "

10 Yax | First | " 12 January

11 Zac | White | " 1 February

12 Quej | Deer | " 21 "

13 Mac | Lid, cover | " 13 March

14 Kankin | Yellow Sun | " 2 April

15 Moan | | " 22 "

16 Pax | Musical instrument | " 12 May

17 Kayab | Song | " 1 June

18 Cumku | Noise | " 21 "

{ Uayebhaab | Bed of year } | the 5 supplementary days}

{ Xma kaba kit | Days without name} | from 11th to 15th July}

"The Mexicans counted only by cycles; they designated the termination of

a cycle by a hieroglyphic representing a bundle of reeds tied up; and

they sometimes designated, by an equal number of small circles, the

number of cycles which had elapsed, since the beginning of their era

corresponding with the year 1091. But the Yucatecos, besides their cycle

of 52 years, had another, containing thirteen periods of twenty or

twenty-four years each. These last mentioned periods were called _Ajau_

or _Ahau_."

[Illustration: YUCATESE IDOL.]

[Illustration: YUCATAN EDIFICE.]

[Illustration: YUCATAN ALTAR.]

THE STATE OF TABASCO.

This State, one of the smallest of the confederacy, was, previous to the

revolution, a province of the Intendency of Vera Cruz. It bounds

eastwardly on the State of Yucatan; south on Chiapas and Oajaca; west on

Vera Cruz, and northwardly on the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly the whole of

Tabasco slopes gradually towards the sea, and is so extremely flat that

it is often subject to inundations, and the communication from village

to village and parish to parish cut off altogether, or only practicable

in canoes. The State is consequently full of streams, though they are

generally short and shallow, whilst their mouths are obstructed by bars

and flats. The most remarkable of these streams are--the Pacaitun, or as

it is sometimes called, Rio de Banderas; the Usumasinta which also

passes through Chiapas; the Tabasco; the Chiltepec; Dos Bocas; Capilco;

Rio de Santa Anna; Tonalá or Toneladas; Tancochapa or San Antonio;

Uspanapan and the Guachapa or Rio del Paso.

On the eastern boundary of Tabasco lies the Laguna de Terminos, which is

fifteen leagues long and ten broad. In this inland sea are locked the

beautiful islands of Laguna, Carmen, and Puerto Real; and, in the two

passes by which the sea is reached from this lagune, twelve to thirteen

feet of water are found in the larger, while but five and a half feet

are obtained in the smaller, or pass of Puerto Real.

The climate of this State is excessively hot along the immediate coast

of the gulf; nor is it very sensibly changed as the interior is reached,

in consequence of the extreme flatness of the soil. During the

prevalence of the northers the harbors are exceedingly insecure; but

these violent storms somewhat temper the heat and render the towns less

sickly.

* * * * *

Tabasco is divided into three departments with nine parishes:

1st. The Department of Villa Hermosa with the districts of Villa

Hermosa, Usumasinta, and Nacayuca. 2d. The Department of the Sierra with

the districts of Teapa, Tacotalpa and Jalapa. 3d. The Department of

Chontalpa with the districts of Macuspana, Cunduacan and Jalpa.

These are subdivided into 49 parishes; (23 of which are in the

Department of Villa Hermosa, 10 in la Sierra, and 16 in Chontalpa;)

besides these there are 543 haciendas and ranchos, or estates and farms;

and, throughout the whole State there are 63 churches. The mass of

inhabitants in Tabasco, as elsewhere in these southern states, is

formed of Indians: and of the 70,000 people who are estimated to compose

the population, it is probable that the majority is formed of the Mijes,

Zoques and Cendales.

Cacao, coffee, pepper, sugar, tamarinds, arrow-root, palmetto and some

tobacco are cultivated; while indigo and vainilla grow wild in the

forests among groves of oaks, cedars, mahogany and ironwood. The

extensive wildernesses of Tabasco are filled with game and wild beasts,

and the streams are full of excellent fish. Bees abound in the depths of

the forests and yield abundant supplies of wild honey and wax.

The capital of Tabasco is Villa Hermosa de Tabasco, or, as it is

sometimes called, Villa de San Juan Bautista, which lies on the left

bank of the Tabasco river twenty-four leagues from its mouth. It

contains about 7,000 inhabitants, and is reached by vessels of light

draft from the sea; but its chief commercial intercourse is carried on

with adjoining states and with Guatemala. There are some other towns or

villages worthy of mention; the principal of which are Usumasinta,

Nacayuca, Tacotalpa, Teapa, Jalapa, Chontalpa, Jalpa, Cunduacan,

Macuspana, Chiltepec, Santa Anna, Tonala, Acalpa, Chinameca, Tochla,

Istapa or Ystapangahoya, San Fernando, Tapichulapa, and Obsolotan.

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.

THE STATE OF VERA CRUZ.

[Illustration: PLAZA OF VERA CRUZ.]

The State of Vera Cruz lies under the burning sky of the tropics between

17° 85´ and 22° 17´ of north latitude; and 96° 46´ and 101° 21´ west

longitude from Paris. It is comprised within a long but somewhat narrow

strip of territory along the Gulf of Mexico, running from the mouth of

the Tampico river, in the north, to the Guasacualco and the boundaries

of Tabasco, on the south. Its length is 166 leagues; its breadth, from

25 to 28; and it is estimated to contain an area of 5,000 square

leagues. It is bounded eastwardly by the Gulf; south by Tabasco; north

by Tamaulipas; and west and south-west by Oajaca, Puebla, Mexico,

Queretaro and San Luis Potosi. The eastern part of the State is

generally level, low and sandy; but, further inland, it gradually rises

as the traveller leaves the arid and burning wastes of the coast, until

the country is broken into an uninterrupted series of lofty mountains

and beautiful vallies.

The coasts of this State are rich in rivers, streams, inlets, and

lagunes; but, unfortunately, they are either not navigable for any

considerable distance, or are obstructed by bars at their mouths. Among

these streams the following are chiefly to be noticed as of importance:

The Rio Tampico, the Garzes, the Tuspan, the Cazones, the Tenistepec,

the Jajalapam or Tecolutla, the Nautla, the Palmar, the Misantla, the

Maguilmanapa, the Yeguascalco, the Actopan, the Chuchalaca, the Antigua,

the Jamapa, the Rio Blanco, the San Juan or Alvarado, the Aquivilco, and

the Gúasacualco which is a boundary stream between the States of Vera

Cruz, Oajaca and Tabasco.

The principal lagunes in the State of Vera Cruz are:--The Laguna de

Tamiahua, the largest on this coast of Mexico, being ten leagues long

and eight leagues broad. It has two mouths in the Gulf;--one at the bar

of Tamiahua, and the other, further south near the mouth of the small

stream of Tuspan. Between these mouths lies the island of Tuspan; while

the two islands of _Juan Ramirez_ and _El Toro_ are found in the lake or

lagune itself. The next lagune in importance is that of Tampico, four

leagues long and three broad; and besides this, there are--the _Lagunas_

de Mandingo, of Alvarado, (which is subdivided into eight smaller

lagunes,) of Catemaico, Alijoyúca, and Tenango.

There are several mineral springs in this State, and at Atotonilco, near

Calcahualco, in the district of Cordova, there are warm baths which are

celebrated for their efficacy in nervous and rheumatic diseases. There

are mineral waters also near the hacienda of Almágros, in the district

of Acayucam, and other warm springs near Aloténgo in the district of

Jalanzingo, whose qualities have not yet been ascertained by chemical

analysis.

The population has been estimated by recent writers at near 251,000;

which distributed over the 5,000 square leagues will give about 50

inhabitants to the square league. According to our estimate in the

chapter on population, the number may be set down at

[Illustration: JALAPA.]

270,000. The milder regions about Jalapa and Orizaba are more thickly

peopled, than the comparatively sterile and sickly shores of the gulf.

The population is composed of mixed races:--Creoles, Indians, Havanese,

Foreigners, and a few Negroes.

The State of Vera Cruz is divided into four Departments and twelve

districts, with 103 municipalities and 1,370 village jurisdictions.

1st. The Department of Jalapa, with two districts or cantons, viz:--1st,

_Jalapa_, including the capital of that name,--thirty-one villages,

fourteen haciendas and sixteen ranchos;--and 2d, _Jalanzingo_, with the

towns of Perote and Jalanzingo, five villages, seven haciendas and

thirty-three ranchos.

2d. The Department of Orizaba, with three districts or cantons: 1st,

_Orizaba_, including the city of that name,--Sougolican, twenty-seven

villages, six haciendas and fifty ranchos. 2d, _Cordova_, including the

city of that name, and the towns of Coscomatepec and San Antonio

Huatusco,--twenty villages, twenty-eight haciendas 237 ranchos,--and 3d,

_Cosamaloapan_, with eight villages, five haciendas and forty-one

ranchos.

3d. The Department of Vera Cruz with four districts or cantons: 1st,

_Vera Cruz_, including the capital of that name, with Alvarado and

Medellin, 21 haciendas, 149 estancias, and 600 ranchos. 2d, _Misantla_,

with four villages, two haciendas, and thirty-four ranchos. 3d,

_Papantla_, with thirteen villages, seven ranchos and the hacienda de

Norias. 4th, _Tampico_, with Tampico and Panuco,--seven villages,

thirty-nine haciendas and forty-one ranchos.

4th. The Department of Acayucam, with three districts or cantons:--1st,

_Acayucam_, with the adjacent Acayucam and San Juan Olúta, nineteen

villages, twelve haciendas, twenty-seven hatos and eleven ranchos. 2d,

_Huimanguillo_, with twenty-one villages, one hacienda and nineteen

ranchos. 3d, _San Andres Tuxtla_, with the adjacent San Andres and

Santiago Tuxtla,--two villages, one hacienda, thirty-four hatos, and

eight ranchos.

It is impossible in a description of this rich and varied State to sum

up with accuracy what it produces either naturally or by introduction

from abroad, for its genial climate, changed by the elevation of the

interior portions of the State, renders it capable of yielding the

fruits, the flowers, the grains, the woods, the vegetables and the

animals of the temperate as well as of the torrid zone. Tobacco, coffee,

sugar, cotton, corn, barley, wheat, jalap, sarsaparilla, vainilla,

mameis, papayas, pine-apples, oranges, citrons, lemons, pomegranates,

zapotes, bananas, chirimogas, aguacates, tunas, pears, watermelons,

peaches, apricots, guyavas, grapes; mahogony, ebony, cedar, oak,

dragon-blood, tamarinds, palms, dyewoods, and a thousand other plants,

trees, shrubs, cereals and parasites, spring almost spontaneously from

the soil, and render the necessary labor of man almost insignificant.

After the strip of sandy sea-shore has been passed, and the country

begins gradually to rise, health and rich vegetation follow the

traveller's footsteps. He beholds on every side magnificent forests

filled with majestic trees and illuminated by the splendid colors of

flowers and buds. In the midst of these solitary folds among the

mountains, farms and plantations are opened, which gleam with the

freshest verdure of cane or corn; while over the levels, innumerable

herds of cattle are fed from the mere fulness of the land, and without

the necessary tending either of shepherds or vaqueros. An idea of this

State's richness in cattle may be formed from the following account of

the number it possessed in 1831,--the district of Jalapa being excluded

from the list, inasmuch as there were no returns for that year:--

291,055 neat cattle,

49,321 horses,

9,396 mules,

3,110 asses,

17,680 goats,

35,325 sheep;

the total value of which, together with the cattle product of the canton

of Jalapa, cannot be less than $2,000,000.

* * * * *

The principal cities, towns and villages of the State of Vera Cruz, are

1st, La Villa rica or La Villa Heroica de la Vera Cruz--the capital of

the State; 2d, Tampico or Pueblo viejo de Tampico; 3d, Panuco; 4th,

Tuspan; 5th, Misantla; 6th, Papantla. [On the road from the port of Vera

Cruz to the western limit of the State, lie Paso de Ovejas, Puente del

Rey or Puente Nacional, Plan del Rio, and El Encero, but these are small

towns or villages of no great consideration.] 7th, Alvarado; 8th, Boca

del Rio; 9th, Tlacotalpan; 10th, Cotastla; 11th, Talascoyan; 12th, San

Martin Acayucam; 13th, San Andres Tuxtla; 14th, Santiago Tuxtla; 15th,

Soconusco; 16th, Jaltipan; 17th, Chinameca; 18th, Orizaba; 19th,

Cordova; 20th, Cosamaloapam; 21st, Aculzingo; 22d, Jalapa; 23d,

Jalanzingo, and 24th, Perote.

The port of Vera Cruz lies in 19° 11´ 52´´ north latitude, and 98° 29´

19´´ west longitude, from Paris, on a sandy plain,--interspersed with

marshes,--which bound the Gulf of Mexico. Its unhealthiness is

proverbial. From the month of May to that of November,--comprising the

usual period during which the northers cease blowing,--the _vomito

prieto_, or black vomit, prevails incessantly at Vera Cruz. None but

natives of the town, or acclimated foreigners, are free from its

attacks, and the frightful inroads it made among our troops, in the year

1847, will long be remembered in the history of our army and country.

Time does not appear to have had any effect on this dreadful disease.

Increase of population and sanatory precautions do not seem to abate its

malignity; and the science of the ablest physicians is entirely at fault

in dealing with it. Diarrhœa, dysentery and vomito are the most fatal

and prevalent maladies at Vera Cruz; and, the latter disease, is

reckoned to cause one-sixth of the whole mortality of the port.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

| METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN VERA CRUZ IN 1830. |

| |

| |HYGROMETER |

| | |

| |Greatest |WATER FALLEN|

| |Dryness | |

| | |Greatest |

| | |Humidity |

+----------+-------+-------+------+------+------+------+----+----+---+----+---+

| | | | Far. |Reau. | Far. |Reau. | | | | | |

|January, | 30 62 | 30 2 | 77 8 | 20 7 | 66 8 | 15 6 | 6 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 1 |

|February, | 30 49 | 30 2 | 79 3 | 21 4 | 67 0 | 15 8 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

|March, | 30 44 | 29 94 | 82 2 | 22 7 | 72 1 | 18 2 | 14 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

|April, | 30 48 | 29 99 | 84 2 | 23 6 | 72 4 | 18 3 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 5 |

|May, | 30 28 | 29 95 | 85 9 | 24 8 | 78 8 | 21 2 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 4 |

|June, | 30 28 | 30 3 | 87 7 | 25 4 | 78 8 | 21 2 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 2 |

|July, | 30 29 | 30 12 | 86 5 | 24 7 | 76 2 | 20 1 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 7 |

|August, | 30 33 | 30 15 | 86 5 | 24 7 | 78 8 | 21 2 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 11 | 9 |

|September,| 30 36 | 30 15 | 85 8 | 24 4 | 77 5 | 20 6 | 16 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 9 |

|October, | 30 37 | 30 9 | 86 0 | 24 5 | 75 2 | 19 6 | 18 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 0 |

|November, | 30 37 | 30 5 | 84 0 | 23 6 | 70 8 | 17 6 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 5 |

|December, | 30 53 | 29 98 | 81 2 | 22 3 | 66 6 | 15 5 | 15 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

+----------+-------+-------+------+------+------+------+----+----+---+----+---+

| |

| BAROMETER. |

| Greatest elevation 30 62 |

| Greatest fall 29 95 |

| Mean height 30 20 |

| |

| THERMOMETER. |

| Greatest degree of heat 87 07 Far. 25 04 Reau. |

| Least degree of heat 66 06 " 15 05 " |

| Mean temperature 77 01 " 20 04 " |

| |

| In eighty-five days of rain the hyectrometer marked a fall of water |

| of seventeen feet one inch and four-tenths of an inch. |

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Table showing the fall of water at Vera Cruz in the years from 1822 to

1830, both inclusive:

Years. Feet. Inches. Tenths.

1822 13 1 5

1823 15 8 9

1824 10 7 1

1825 20 6 4

1826[49] 5 4 4

1827[50] 21 2 8

1828 12 2 0

1829 23 2 3

1830 17 1 4

The majestic mountain of Orizaba, or Citlaltepetl, the "Mountain of the

Star," is found within the limits of the State of Vera Cruz, and as it

is somewhat renowned in all geographical descriptions of this continent,

we shall insert the first authentic account of its ascent we have ever

seen, which was prepared by Lieutenant W. F. Reynolds, of the United

States Topographical Engineers, who, with some friends, reached the

lofty peak whilst serving with our army in Mexico.

"The Peak of Orizaba," says he, "though situated nearly a hundred miles

in the interior, is the first land beheld on approaching Vera Cruz from

the gulf. Being visible nearly fifty miles at sea, it is the most

important land mark to the sailor in these regions. While the command

under General Bankhead, which was the first to march from Vera Cruz to

the city of Orizaba, was 'en route,' in February, 1848, the mountain

being constantly in view, a trip to its summit was frequently discussed;

and after our arrival at that place, the marvellous stories told by the

inhabitants only increased our desire to make the attempt. All agreed

that the summit had never been reached, though several knew or heard of

its being attempted. The difficulties to be encountered were represented

as being perfectly insurmountable; craggy precipices were to be climbed;

gullies, two thousand feet deep, it was said, were to be crossed;

inclined planes of smooth ice were to be ascended; to say nothing of

avalanches, under which, we were assured, all the rash party who made

the daring attempt would surely find a grave. These extraordinary

stories produced quite a different effect from the one anticipated, and

the question was not who would go, but who would stay home. It was not,

however, till the latter part of April that the weather was thought

favorable, and securing, for the proposed expedition, the sanction of

the commanding officer, we made our preparations for overcoming all

obstacles. Accordingly, long poles were prepared, shod with iron sockets

at one end and hooks at the other, to assist in scaling precipices;

ropes with iron grapnels were to be thrown over a projecting crag or icy

point; rope ladders were made to be used if required; shoes and sandals

with sharp projecting points to assist in climbing the icy slopes, were

also bespoken;--in short, everything that was thought might be needed or

would increase the chances of success, was taken along. The selection of

a route presented some difficulty, different ones being

recommended--those by San Andres and San Juan de Coscomatepec

particularly. In order to decide between them, we endeavored to persuade

some of the intelligent citizens who were acquainted with the country,

to go with us. At first they consented, but as the time approached one

after another declined, till finally, when the party assembled for

starting, it was found we were to go alone. Then, as some inclined to

one route and others to another, we concluded to reject all their

recommendations, and go direct to the mountain, following the path taken

by the Indians engaged in bringing down snow to the city, as far as the

limits of vegetation, and from that point to go round the peak to the

side that would present the best prospect for success.

"We left the city of Orizaba on the morning of the 7th of May, the party

consisting of ten officers, including one of the navy, thirty-four

soldiers, and two sailors serving with the naval battery, three or four

Mexicans and Indians as guides, and enough pack mules to carry our

provisions and equipments. Our expedition setting out during the

armistice, it was thought advisable to procure a passport from the

prefect of Orizaba to provide against exigencies. About six miles from

the city of Orizaba we passed through the small Indian village of La

Perla; the inhabitants were much frightened at our approach, but our

passport soon quieted them, and when they came to know the object of our

visit, they seemed to regard us as the greatest set of donkeys they ever

saw, telling us very plainly that we could never reach the summit.

Nothing daunted, however, we continued on, and immediately after leaving

the village commenced a rapid assent, and began to enjoy views which in

themselves would have amply repaid us for our trouble. We encamped for

the night at an elevation of 7,000 feet above the level of the sea; the

night was clear and bracing, but not cold enough to be uncomfortable.

The next morning was beautiful and clear, and after an early breakfast,

we were again in motion. The scenery was truly sublime, and ascending

one mountain after another, valley after valley appeared in view; hills

which at first seemed mountains, seemed gradually sinking before our

feet, and the range of vision constantly extending, we could not help

making frequent halts to admire scenes which cannot be surpassed, and

which at every successive turn broke upon our sight with redoubled

magnificence and grandeur. We were now in the region of pines and

northern plants; the old familiar oak, the birch, and trees unknown to

the lower countries, were around us; the heavy undergrowth had

disappeared, and we could _almost_ imagine ourselves in our 'dear native

land.' Cultivation does not extend up as high as we expected to see it;

we passed the upper limit about 8,000 feet elevation. About 12 o'clock,

and at an elevation of rather more than 10,000 feet, the guides reported

that the mules could go no farther, and not knowing anything of our

route beyond, we were compelled to encamp for the night. A brother

officer and myself, however, being on horse-back and feeling

comparatively fresh, determined to go forward and explore. We concluded

that it would not do to stop where we were, but the mules with light

loads could go still higher. Accordingly, next morning we again started,

four or five of us going in advance to select a good place for

encampment, and also to explore the best route for the final ascent. We

selected our camp on the verge of vegetation, and went forward by routes

far above the line of eternal snow. Under shelter of a rock, and far

above that line, some of the party found a rude cross, decorated with

paper ornaments and surrounded by tallow candles. Its history we were

unable to learn, but it gave rise to many reflections. Who placed it

there? when was it erected? and what event did it record? were questions

asked, but not answered. During the trip several parties of Indians

passed us, who make a regular business of bringing down snow on their

backs to the citizens of Orizaba. The cross was probably erected by some

of them. On our return, we found all our baggage brought up to the new

encampment, notwithstanding it had been pronounced impossible, and on

comparing notes, selected the route which seemed most practicable, and

prepared for the ascent in the morning. The night was clear and cold,

the thermometer falling below the freezing point; a heavy frost and

frozen water reminding us forcibly of 'auld lang syne.' While sitting

round our camp-fires this evening, it was discovered that there were two

flags in the party; the sailors not knowing that one had been brought

along, had carried materials and manufactured one in the camp. It was

proposed to get up a rivalry as to which flag should be planted first,

but we came to the conclusion at last, that should the summit be

reached, the honor should be equally shared. As night came on, we

enjoyed a most magnificent sight; the clouds gathered round the foot of

the mountain so as to entirely obstruct our view, while the distant

lightning flash, darting from cloud to cloud, was visible far beneath

our feet; the sky overhead being bright and beautiful. We were encamped

at an elevation, according to the barometer, of 12,000 feet, about

double that of the highest peak of the White Mountains--while the summit

still raised its snow-white head above us to a height nearly equal to

that of Mount Washington above the sea, and seemed to frown upon the

pigmies who dared to attempt to scale its giddy, and, as yet, unascended

height. At daylight on the morning of the 10th of May, we were again in

motion; many of the party had already given out, so that there were but

twenty-four persons to start on the final journey. In a few minutes we

were at the foot of the snow, and taking the route over which there

seemed to be the least of it, passed for half or three-fourths of a mile

over loose volcanic sand. On measuring the slope of this, I found it to

be 33°. It was by far the most difficult portion of our ascent;--sinking

up to our knees in sand, we seemed to go back about as far as we stepped

forward, while the rarefied condition of the atmosphere made exertion

painful in the extreme; indeed, during the whole of this day's ascent,

it was impossible to advance fifty paces without stopping to take

breath. When not exerting ourselves, we could breathe with comparative

ease; but the moment we moved, we were reminded of our great elevation.

I can only compare the sensation to that felt by a person who, after

running at the top of his speed, is ready to sink down from sheer

exhaustion.

"At length, however, we reached firm rock, and it was quite a relief to

be able once more to climb with our hands and feet. But we were yet far

from the point at which we were aiming, and before reaching it were to

be many times sorely disappointed. A projecting crag, far above, would

be hailed as the summit; step after step the weary body was dragged

along, until at length it was reached; but, once there, it was found to

be but the base of another still higher;--this, too, being overcome,

another was discovered above. Thus, time after time, were our

expectations crushed, till hope seemed almost to have forsaken us, and

one after another dropped behind in despair. But--'advance'--was our

motto, and onward we pushed, until at length the efforts of some of the

party were crowned with success, and they dropped exhausted on the

brink of the crater.

"The crater is nearly circular and variously estimated by different

members of our troop at from 400 to 650 yards in diameter. We all

estimated the depth at 300 feet. The sides are nearly vertical, and show

strong and unmistakeable signs of fire, looking like the mouth of a

gigantic furnace.

"At the foot of this perpendicular wall was quite a bank of sand or

_débris_, which had fallen from the inner surface of the rock,

indicating the great length of time since the volcano had been extinct.

Indeed its fires were perfectly dead, for the bottom of the crater was

covered with snow. Humboldt says its most violent eruptions were in 1545

and 1566,--nor have I seen a record of an eruption since.

"As I desired to test Humboldt's altitude, I had taken the precaution to

be as well prepared as circumstances would admit, and accordingly had

carried with me the best barometer I could get, which, from previous

calculations, I deemed capable of indicating a height of from 300 to 400

feet higher than that given by him. I had, also, provided myself with a

spirit-lamp and thermometer, for the purpose of taking the temperature

of boiling water; but, on the march, the bottle containing the alcohol

was broken and the spirit entirely lost. I therefore determined to test

the combustible qualities of whiskey. One of my first objects after

reaching the summit was to make observations; but, on preparing the

barometer, the mercury sank at once _below_ the graduation.

"I estimated the distance between the lowest line of graduation and the

top of the mercury at two-tenths of an inch, which gives,--with

corresponding observations in the city of Orizaba at the same hour,--an

elevation of 17,907 feet, and makes it the highest point on the North

American Continent. I do not think I could have been far wrong in my

estimate, as the means of comparison were before me; but, even supposing

I was mistaken one-twentieth of an inch, we still have an elevation of

17,819 feet, 98 feet higher than Popocatepetl, which is usually

considered the highest point,--5,400 metres, or, 17,721 feet, as given

by Humboldt.[51] The temperature was just below freezing point. My

attempt to burn whiskey failed. Since my return to the United States, I

have observed that Humboldt states that Mr. Ferrar measured Orizaba,

eight years before his arrival in Mexico, and gave the mountain an

elevation of 5,460 metres or 17,885 feet. Humboldt's measurement, made

from a plain near Jalapa, is 155 metres less, or 17,377 feet in all. It

will be seen that my determination agrees very nearly with that of Mr.

Ferrar.

* * * * *

"We remained on the summit about an hour,--planted our national banner

and saluted it with three hearty cheers. The day was clear, but the

atmosphere thick and smoky, so that we did not enjoy the views we had

hoped for; but as we believed ourselves to have been the first who ever

looked into the crater, we were amply repaid for our trouble.

"The descent was by no means so difficult as the ascent; a slide on the

snow or sand carried us hundreds of feet down a space which had required

many weary steps to ascend. About dark we arrived at our encampment,

highly delighted with our trip, though much exhausted. All who made the

final attempt were more or less affected either with violent headaches,

nausea, and vomiting, or bleeding at the nose. The veils which we

provided for our journey did good service, but the face, and

particularly the lips, of all who reached the summit, became so

extremely swollen and cracked as to confine them to their rooms for

several days.

"The difficulty of the undertaking had been greatly magnified;--none of

our preparations, excepting veils, were necessary. The sand is the most

serious obstacle to be overcome, and by taking a more circuitous route

from our last encampment, this might have been avoided. All that is

required is patience, perseverance and a physical constitution capable

of sustaining fatigue."

ANCIENT REMAINS IN THE STATE OF VERA CRUZ.

During the sojourn of Mr. Norman in Mexico, in 1844, as described in his

"Rambles by Land and Water," he made an excursion to visit the ancient

town of Panuco, where he was received with the greatest kindness and

hospitality by the white and half-breed inhabitants. His route lay along

the banks of the river, and across the prairies: the common road being

only a bridle path through the forest which is never travelled but with

the greatest caution and watchfulness. Here, as in the State of

Tamaulipas, he visited the Indian huts that lay in his way; but it was

quite impossible to convince the credulous children of the wilderness

that the acquisition of gold was not the real object of his visit;--and

this circumstance may account for the fact that he obtained from them so

little information respecting the neighborhood.

Panuco, an old town of the Huestecos, which is subject to occasional

inundation during the rainy season, is the only important settlement

above Tampico, on the Panuco river, and contains about four thousand

inhabitants. It is beautifully seated on the banks of the stream, in the

State of Vera Cruz, about thirty leagues from Tampico by water and

fifteen by land. In its vicinity, scattered over an area of many miles,

are ancient ruins, whose history is not only entirely unknown to the

inhabitants, but seems not to excite their interest or curiosity. Mr.

Norman could not discover the slightest trace of a tradition on the

subject amongst the neighboring people, though he diligently sought it

from every reliable source. Several days were employed by him in

explorations, and his toil was occasionally rewarded by the discovery of

strange and novel objects. Among these was a handsome block or slab,

seven feet in length, one foot in thickness, and two and a half in

average width. Upon its surface was beautifully wrought, in bold relief,

the full length figure of a man in a loose robe, with a girdle about his

loins, his arms crossed on his breast, his head encased in a close cap

or casque somewhat resembling a helmet without the crest, while his feet

and ankles were bound with the thongs of sandals. The edges of this

block were ornamented with a plain raised border, about an inch and a

half square. The figure is that of a tall athletic man of fine

proportions, whose features are of the noblest class of the European or

Caucasian race, and the execution of the sculpture was equal to the very

best that the traveller found among the wonderful relics of the country.

It was found lying on the side of a ravine, resting upon the dilapidated

walls of an ancient sepulchre, of which nothing now remains but a loose

pile of hewn stones. It was more than four feet beneath the present

surface of the ground, and was brought to light in the course of

excavating which revealed a corner of the slab, and the loose adjacent

stones that had been bared by the rush of waters in the rainy season,

while breaking a new and deep channel to the river. The earth that

covered the slab and sepulchre had not been heaped by the hand of man;

but was the natural accumulation of time, and many years must have been

requisite to bury it so deeply.

* * * * *

Three leagues south of Panuco, there are other ancient Indian remains

which are known as the ruins of Chacuaco, and are represented as

covering an area of three square leagues, all of which were comprised

within the bounds of a large city; we should mention also the ruins of

San Nicolas, five leagues south-west; and

[Illustration: AZTEC FIGURES IN CLAY.]

those of La Trinidad, about six leagues in nearly the same direction.

Besides these, there are other ruins of which the traveller was

informed, situated at a still greater distance, all of which present the

same general features as those already described, and probably belonged

to the same period, or were built by the same race. The whole region is

alleged to be full of these memorials of the number, power and wealth of

the ill-fated nations that once dwelt and worshipped on the eastern

slopes of the Mexican Cordilleras.

Domestic utensils made of the ordinary pottery of the country, but

skilfully and even artistically formed, have been exhumed from among

these ruins of ancient cities; and in the course of Mr. Norman's

explorations he unearthed two singular and grotesque images which

probably figured in the idolatrous worship of the Indians. Our traveller

found that similar images were used by the Indian women of the present

day, who suspended them about their necks as talismans, and especially

relied on them in seasons of sickness and danger. The images referred to

are hollow, with a small aperture near one of the shoulders, and are

filled with balls as large as a pea, which are supposed to have been

made of the ashes of victims sacrificed in former days to the gods. We

have ourselves seen numbers of these earthern figures in the valley of

Mexico, where they are vulgarly known as "Mexican's Idols." Travellers

have usually classed them among the _Dii Penates_ or household gods of

the Aztecs or Toltecs, but we have regarded them either as the ornaments

of a primitive people or as the dolls and playthings of their children.

In our plates of antiquities discovered in the valley, several figures

are to be found which we think belong unquestionably to this class.

PYRAMID OF PAPANTLA.

Sixteen leagues from the sea and fifty-two north of Vera Cruz, on the

eastern slope of the Cordilleras, lies the village of Papantla, in the

midst of plains which are constantly fertilized by streams that descend

from the mountains. It is the centre of a remarkably rich agricultural

district, capable of producing the most luxuriant crops of pepper,

coffee, tobacco, cotton, vainilla, sugar and sarsaparilla, and abounding

in all varieties of valuable woods; but the heat and maladies of the

burning climate prevent the whites from venturing to till so dangerous a

district. Accordingly we find that this Indian village has hardly a

single Spanish inhabitant or visiter except the priest and the traders

who come from the coast to traffic their foreign goods for the products

of the aborigines. Two leagues

[Illustration: PYRAMID OF PAPANTLA.]

from this secluded hamlet, lie spread over the plain, the massive ruins

of an ancient city, which in its palmy days was more than a mile and a

half in circuit. It is a matter of great regret that these relics have

never been sufficiently explored, drawn and described. The most

satisfactory account that we possess of them is that given in the

"Voyage Pittoresque et Archeologique" of Monsieur Nebel, who visited

them several years ago, and has sketched the beautiful pyramid

represented in the plate, which is unquestionably one of the most

perfect and symmetrical relics of antiquity within the present limits of

the republic. Time has done its work upon this remarkable remain; and

trees, plants and vines, which grow so rapidly in this teeming climate,

have sprung among its joints and stories.

* * * * *

The Indians of the neighborhood call this pyramid "El Tajin;" it

consists of seven bodies, stages or stories, each of which rises at the

same angle of inclination, and is terminated by a frieze and cornice. It

is constructed of sand-stone beautifully squared, joined and covered

with hard stucco, which appears to have been painted. The pyramid

measures one hundred and twenty feet on every side at its base, and is

ascended by a stair composed of fifty seven steps, each measuring one

foot in height, and terminating at the top of the sixth story. This

stairway is divided in three places, by square recesses two feet in

depth, resembling those which perforate the friezes on each of the

stories. The stair ends at the top of the sixth story, and the seventh,

which seems to be in ruins, is hollow, and was probably the shrine

wherein sacrifices were offered before the image of the god to whom the

pyramid was dedicated. Monsieur Nebel does not state the height of this

edifice; but as he gives the elevation of each of the fifty-seven steps,

we may calculate that the summit of the shrine is at least sixty-six

feet above the base.

[Illustration: ANCIENT HEADS MADE OF CLAY.]

[Illustration: MAPILCA.]

A few leagues from Papantla, near an Indian rancho called Mapilca, Mr.

Nebel found pyramids, sculptured stones, and the ruins of an extensive

city, which it was impossible for him to examine in consequence of the

thick vegetation with which they are covered in the dim recesses of the

forest. The artist was alone in the wilderness, and unaided except by a

few indolent Indians who were indisposed to further his researches. The

stone, which is presented in the annexed drawing, is twenty-one feet

long, and of a close grained granite; the figures, carved on its

surface, differ from the ancient sculptures found on this side of the

Cordilleras, and resemble those found in Oajaca, more than any others in

Mexico. Mr. Nebel caused an excavation to be made in front of this

relic, which he supposed had once formed part of an edifice, and at some

distance below the surface he struck upon a road formed of irregular

blocks, not unlike the old Roman pavements.

[Illustration: TUSAPAN.]

About fifteen leagues west from Papantla, in a small plain at the feet

of the eastern Cordillera of Mexico, are the remains of Tusapan, which

is supposed to have been a city of the Totonacs. The vestiges of this

little Indian city are almost obliterated, and the only very significant

relics are the pyramidal edifice exhibited in the annexed plate, and a

singular fountain, a drawing of which is given in the work of M. Nebel.

The pyramid, built of stones of unequal size, extends thirty feet on

each of its sides at the base, and the summit of its single story is

reached by a flight of stairs. Upon the platform of this base a square

tower is erected, which is entered by a door whose posts and lintel, as

well as the friezes of the edifice, have been elaborately carved. In

front of the door, within the tower, stands the pedestal of the ancient

divinity, but the idol itself has been destroyed. The interior of this

apartment is twelve feet square, and its ceiling, like the external

roof, terminates in a point.

Around the pyramid are scattered masses of stones, sculptured into the

images of men and various animals; and from the inferior manner in which

the carving on these objects is executed, we may judge that this

religious temple was not the most celebrated architectural or artistic

work of the ancient inhabitants.

The fountain which we have already mentioned is a single female figure

in an indecent squatting attitude, _nineteen feet high_, and cut from

the solid rock. The remains of a pipe which conveyed the water to it,

are still visible behind the head, and the liquid passed through the

body of the gigantic image until it was discharged beneath into the

basin or canal, by which it was carried to the neighboring town. The

Indian tradition, as recounted by Nebel, states, that the ancient

inhabitants of this spot, abandoned it, in consequence of the

unfertility of the soil and the failure of the streams, and that they

took refuge in, or united themselves with the occupants of Papantla.

ISLAND OF SACRIFICIOS.

At the period of the Conquest of Mexico, this small island, which lies a

few miles from the present city and port of Vera Cruz, and under whose

lee is found the best anchorage on the Eastern Coast for vessels of war,

was unquestionably a spot sacred to sacrifice and burial.

But no one seems to have examined this island, with a truly antiquarian

spirit, until it was visited in 1841, by M. Dumanoir, who commanded a

French vessel of war which was then anchored at the island. Previous to

this time it had been trodden by thousands of idle sailors and landsmen

who raked its surface for the Indian relics of pottery and obsidian

which lay scattered in every direction; and, consequently there was

little of value to be discovered above ground. Accordingly, Monsieur

Dumanoir undertook to make suitable excavations, and, in the centre of

the islet he discovered various sepulchres, in which the skeletons were

found in a state of excellent preservation. Besides this, his trouble

was rewarded by the exhumation of large numbers of clay vases, covered

with paintings and etchings, together with idols, images, collars,

bracelets, arms, teeth of dogs and tigers, and a beautiful urn carved

either in white marble or in the alabaster which abounds in the

neighborhood of Puebla.

MISANTLA.

About thirty miles from the town of Jalapa, on a ridge of mountains in

the canton of Misantla, rises the Cerro or hill of Estillero, near which

there is a precipitous mountain on whose narrow strip of table land at

the summit, were discovered in 1835, the remains of an extensive ancient

city. The site of this town is perfectly isolated. Steep rocks and deep

ravines surround the mountain upon which it was built, and beyond these

dells and precipices there is a

[Illustration: ANCIENT VASES AND VESSELS.]

lofty wall of hills from whose summit the sea in the neighborhood of

Nautla is distinctly visible. The table lands upon which the ruins are

found is only approachable by the gentler declivities in the direction

of the hill of Estillero; and, at all other points, the lonely eminence

appears to have been sundered from the surrounding regions by some

volcanic convulsion.

[Illustration: MISANTLA.]

As the mountain plain on the summit is approached, the traveller first

discovers a broken wall of massive stones, feebly united by cement,

which seems to have served for the boundary of a circular _plaza_ or

area in whose centre rises a pyramid eighty feet high, forty-nine feet

broad, and forty-two deep. It is divided into three stories or stages,

and along the sloping sides of the lower and broadest terrace, a

stairway leads to the first offset. The second stage is ascended by a

stair at the side, and the top of the third is reached by steps niched

into the corner of the pyramid. In front of the edifice, on the second

story, are two pilastral columns, which it is supposed may have been

portions of the stairway; but this part of the _teocalli_, and its upper

story are so wildly overgrown with trees and tropical vegetation that

the outline of the structure is greatly obliterated. On the summit, a

gigantic tree, has sent its roots deep into the spot which was doubtless

once the shrine of the Indian temple.

Beyond the wall of the circular area in which this edifice is placed,

are found the remains of the city or town, extending nearly three miles

north in a straight line. The foundations of all the houses are still

distinctly traceable. They were built of large square stones, and are

separated by streets at the distance of about three hundred yards from

each other. In some of the blocks of buildings the walls are yet

standing, at a height of between three and four feet above the level of

the ground. South of the city are seen the relics of a low narrow wall,

by which it was defended in that direction;--and north of it there is a

tongue of land, jutting out towards the precipitous edges of the

mountain, whose centre is occupied by a mound which the explorers have

supposed to be the ancient cemetery of the inhabitants. On the left

acclivity of the slope by which the town is approached are twelve

sepulchres, seven feet in diameter, and as many high, in which several

bodies were found, parts of which were in good preservation. The walls

of these tombs are constructed of cut stone; but the mortar that

probably once joined them, has entirely disappeared. Several erect and

sitting figures, carved in stone, were discovered on the site of this

city, and two blocks were found, filled with hieroglyphic characters.

Numbers of vases and utensils, were also unearthed; but they were

carried to Vera Cruz, and all trace of them has been subsequently

lost.[52]

REMAINS NEAR PUENTE NACIONAL.

About a league and a half from the Puente Nacional, or National Bridge,

to the left of the high road in the midst of a dense forest, and near

the banks of the stream known as the Rio del Puente, Don José Maria

Esteva found some interesting remains of antiquity in November of 1843.

They had been visited in 1819 or '20, by a priest, named Cabeza de Vaca,

who was then curate at Puente Nacional, but from that period until 1843,

they had been entirely lost sight of. The temple or teocalli, is

situated on the top of a small mount, elevated about one hundred and

fifty feet above the level of the stream, which runs at its feet. In

consequence of the inequality of the surface of the soil, the edifice is

thirty-three Spanish feet high, on some of its sides, and forty-two on

others. It fronts towards the east, and its platform, or upper level, is

reached by a stairway of thirty-four steps, so steep as to be almost

perpendicular to its base. The platform is forty-eight Spanish feet

broad, and seventy long. The semi-circumference of the base is stated

to be one hundred and six feet. The edifice is surrounded by six

stairways, one foot broad, and the distance between each step or stage

of the body of the teocalli, is about seven feet high nearest the base,

their height diminishing, however, as you ascend to those nearest the

platform. The whole structure is built of lime, sand and large stones

taken from the bed of the river, and although shrubs have grown both on

the platform and on the stairways, this interesting relic of antiquity

has been so completely protected, that its form is still perfectly

preserved. At first sight the edifice would seem to be perfectly solid,

yet upon examination it has been found to be hollow, and that its

ancient entrance was from the west. This entrance, however, is so small

that notwithstanding the efforts of laborers who were employed by the

explorer to clear the fallen rubbish and open a path, they were unable

to penetrate the whole of the interior chambers. The short time they

were enabled to devote to this work, and the fear of the Indians to

encounter wild beasts and serpents in the interior of the temple,

deterred Señor Esteva from further efforts, and thus, perhaps, one of

the most perfect remains of antiquity on the east coast of Mexico is

still very inadequately described.[53]

[Illustration: PUENTE NACIONAL.]

THE STATE OF TAMAULIPAS.

This State was known, previous to the revolution, as the Itendencia de

San Luis Potosi, and included the colony of Nuevo Santander. It is now

bounded on the north by the North American State of Texas; on the

north-west by the Mexican State of Coahuila; on the west by the States

of New Leon and San Luis Potosi; on the south by San Luis Potosi and

Vera Cruz; and, on the east, by the Gulf of Mexico. The breadth of the

State varies from twelve to fifty-five leagues.

The coast of Tamaulipas is more than three hundred and fifty miles in

length, and is fringed with lagunes, varying from four to eighteen miles

in width, which are divided from the gulf by barriers and banks of sand.

The shallowness of the shores along the whole of this coast, and the

dangerous bars which choke the mouths of the rivers, render the

navigation difficult and dangerous for vessels of almost all classes. In

the northern part of the State, in the neighborhood of the Rio Grande,

the country is comparatively level. South of these high plains, however,

and some distance in the interior, the land is varied by a succession of

mountains, hills and vallies, which gradually slope eastwardly until

they are lost in the flats and sands of the sea coast. The Cerro de

Martinez, the Cerro de Xeres, the Cerro del Coronel, and the mountain

ridges, or sierras, de la Palma and del Carico, are the most remarkable

elevations. The land is well watered. Fine vallies extend along the Rio

del Norte or Rio Grande, the Tigre, Borbon, Panuco and Dolores. On the

coast are found the lagunes of La Madre, Morales and Tampico.

The climate of the interior of Tamaulipas is mild and healthy; but on

the coast an intense heat prevails during the greater part of the year,

and, combined with the rank vegetation and moisture, produces diseases

similar to those which scourge the adjacent shores of Vera Cruz. As soon

as the northers begin to blow, all nature--animal and vegetable--is

refreshed by the grateful change; but the hot season generally

recommences in March, and soon spreads miasma and death throughout the

whole of the low lands.

The population of Tamaulipas,--consisting chiefly of Meztizos and

Indians,--was estimated by the Mexican Calendar of 1833, at 166,824, who

were divided among three departments and eleven districts or cantons. In

1842 the population, as stated in the estimate for a congress, was

100,068; and if to this we add ten per cent. for the estimated increase

in seven years, we shall have 110,074 in 1850.

The chief productions and the indigenous plants are similar to those

found in the State of Vera Cruz; and considerable trade is carried on

with the interior--especially with the States of San Luis Potosi,

Zacatecas, and Queretaro,--in mules, oxen, horses, honey and wax. The

coasting and foreign commerce is conducted principally in the ports of

Tampico de Tamaulipas and Matamoros. From these places, large quantities

of European and North American manufactures, enter the middle and

northern States of the republic. Queretaro, San Luis, Nuevo Leon,

Coahuila, Zacatecas, Jalisco, Durango, Chihuahua and Sonora are all

benefitted by this trade in a greater or less degree; and the Panuco,

Rio Grande and other streams are all availed of partially for this

interior trade as far as they are navigable. At Soto la Marina an

important smuggling business was long and vigorously carried on.

The capital of this State is VICTORIA, formerly SANTANDER, a town of

12,000 inhabitants. TAMPICO DE TAMAULIPAS, on the northern bank of the

Panuco, which enters the Mexican Gulf five miles below the town, is the

principal commercial port of the State. Its bar is dangerous and its

harbor considered unsafe. Large vessels cannot approach the town, which

is situated among extensive marshes. It is visited almost every year by

the yellow fever; yet its foreign commerce is extensive and appears to

be increasing.

SOTO LA MARINA is a small village and haven at the mouth of the river

Santander, on its left bank. It is composed chiefly of Indian huts, and

contains about 3,000 inhabitants.

MATAMOROS lies on the right bank of the Rio Grande or Rio Bravo del

Norte, at the distance of ten leagues from its mouth. It contains about

10,000 inhabitants, who have become well acquainted with the people of

the United States during the recent war. The climate of Matamoros is hot

and sickly, like that of Tampico or Vera Cruz; but as the river upon

which it lies is perhaps the most important in Mexico, and has proved

navigable by steamers for a considerable distance in the interior, it is

probable that this place will become the depot of a large and valuable

commerce destined for the supply of the northern States of the Mexican

confederacy. By the treaty of 1848, the Rio Grande became the boundary

between large portions of the two republics; and as the intervening

country between the Nueces and the Rio Grande is not considered at

present attractive for agricultural purposes, it is likely that it will

long continue unoccupied and unsettled, thus leaving the whole of our

commerce to be conveyed to Matamoros, or to our own neighboring

settlements on the opposite shore, for distribution throughout the

valley of the Rio Grande.

[Illustration: TAMPICO.]

The other towns and villages in Tamaulipas worthy of note, are Altamira,

Horcasitas, Coco, Escandon, Llera, Santillana, Padilla, Hoyos,

Guadalupe, Reinosa, Camargo, Mier, Revilla, the most important of which

lie on the margin of, or near, the Rio Grande.

ANCIENT REMAINS IN TAMAULIPAS.

The only remains of Indian architecture and civilization of whose

existence we are aware, are those described in the small work published

by Mr. B. M. Norman in 1845, to which we have already alluded, entitled

"Rambles by Land and Water or Notes of Travel in Cuba and Mexico." This

gentleman's notices of the antiquities in this region are exceedingly

brief, sketchy and indefinite, nor are the illustrations with which his

text is accompanied, calculated to convey more vivid pictures of the

relics he visited or discovered in the course of his investigations

along the margins of the Panuco.

Departing from Tampico, in March, 1844, he ascended that river in a

canoe, paddled by an Indian, and before nightfall, on the second day of

his primitive voyage, reached Topila creek, three miles from the mouth

of which he landed at a _rancho_ or cattle farm, belonging to Señor

Coss, of Tampico. Five miles from this spot, lying to the eastward of

another _rancho_, he found several considerable mounds, one of which was

more than twenty-five feet high and of a circular form. At its sides, a

number of layers of small flat well hewn stones were still to be seen;

while scattered about were many others of larger size and various

shapes. All were perfectly plain or unadorned, and had apparently been

used for the door posts and lintels of edifices.

On the following day, the traveller visited the _rancho de las Piedras_,

distant about two leagues and a half in a southerly direction from the

bank of the Topila. Passing through a dense wilderness, he reached after

much toil, an elevated table land or plateau, near a chain of hills

running through this section of country and known as the Cerro de

Topila. Here he found more scattered stones which had once formed parts

of buildings; while, further on, he discovered several mounds, whose

sides were constructed of loose layers of smooth and uniform blocks of

concrete sandstone. Most of these layers, had, however, fallen from

their places in the _tumuli_, and were heaped in masses near their base.

About twenty of these mounds, lay contiguous to each other, varying in

height from six to twenty-five feet, some being circular and others

square. The principal elevation in this group of pyramids covers an area

of about two acres, and at its base, Mr. Norman discovered a

cylindrical stone slab seven inches thick, four feet nine inches in

diameter, and pierced through the centre, lying upon the top of a

circular wall whose top was level with the ground. On removing this

stone he found a well filled up with broken stones and fragments of

pottery. The upper portion of the slab bore evidence of having been

originally sculptured, but the tracings of the chisel were so much worn

by time and seasons that they could not be drawn with accuracy. On the

top of the tumulus, in front of which this well was discovered, grew a

wild fig tree, whose gigantic height of more than an hundred feet,

indicates the great age of the work and the long period of its

abandonment.

The walls of the adjacent minor mounds had all fallen inward, from which

the traveller concluded that they had been used for sepulture; but he

does not seem to have taken the time or trouble to verify this

conjecture by personal explorations. The ground, for several miles

around, was strewn with loose hewn stones of various shapes, and broken

fragments of pottery, which had unquestionably formed parts of domestic

utensils. Fragments of _obsidian_, which had no doubt been the knives

and weapons of the former inhabitants of this spot, were also

plentifully scattered about, and every indication existed of a dense

population in the by gone days. These ruins are placed by Mr. Norman in

98° 31´ west longitude and 22° 9´ north latitude.

Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol. 2 of 2 A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of that Country from the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time. · 第 13 / 17 章