The Indian, consoled and satisfied by the Virgin's assurance, was filled

with divine confidence, and without caring for any thing else, he asked

for the sign he was to take to the bishop. The Virgin told him to ascend

the hill to the spot where she had previously conversed with him, and

cutting the flowers he would find growing there, to collect them in his

_tilma_ or blanket and bring them to her.

The Indian obeyed unhesitatingly, although he knew that these rude

wastes produced nothing but thorns even in the most flourishing

springtide.

Arrived, however, at the summit, he found a _bed of various budding

flowers, odorous and yet wet with dew_. He cut, collected and placed in

his _tilma_ as many of them as it would hold and bore them to the Most

Holy Virgin, who awaited him at the foot of a tree, called by the

Indians Cuautzahautl, (a species of palm of wild growth, bearing only

white flowers similar to those of the white lily,) which grew in front

of and near the source of the fountain. The Indian bowed humbly and

exhibited the flowers which he had cut. The Virgin taking them in her

blessed hands impressed them with a holy virtue and arranged them in the

Indian's _tilma_, (which was, in fine, to be the repository of her

sacred image,) and said to him, 'This is the sign which I wish you to

take to the bishop, in order that he may build me a temple on this

spot;' and she charged him, saying, 'show no one what you have until you

arrive in his presence!'

With this she dismissed Juan;--and the Indian rejoicing in the sign,

(for he knew that through it his embassy would have a happy issue,) he

hastily took the path to Mexico.

Juan Diego arrived at the palace of the bishop with the credentials of

his embassy, and informed various members of the family that he wished

to speak with him. Nevertheless he could not obtain permission to enter,

until, enraged at his importunity and perceiving his _tilma_ full of

something, they sought to ascertain what it contained; and although in

obeying the mandate of the Most Holy Virgin, he resisted and hid from

their sight these miraculous flowers, they did not desist from using

violence to discover what he seemed so anxious to conceal. Seeing,

however, that they were only flowers wet with dew, and admirable for

their beauty and fragrance, they thrice attempted to seize some without

being able to do so, for the powerful hand of the Virgin resisted their

violence, affixing the blossoms in such a manner to the _tilma_ that

upon touching them they appeared painted or interwoven in the material

of the garment itself. This portentous novelty caused them to hasten to

the bishop with the information that Juan Diego was waiting to speak

with him.

As soon as the prelate was informed of the circumstances, he ordered the

Indian to enter instantly. As Juan displayed his _tilma_ to show the

blessed sign, the flowers fell, and the image of the Most Holy Virgin,

which we venerate in the Sanctuary of Guadalupe, appeared miraculously

painted upon the _tilma_ or garment of the Indian! At this wonderful

sight the astonished bishop and those about him prostrated themselves

and adored it with the greatest veneration. They were struck with the

beauty and freshness of the flowers flourishing in the midst of winter,

but much more by the heavenly beauty of the image before them, from

which they neither attempted nor were able to withdraw their eyes.

No less astonished was Juan Diego at seeing in his _tilma_ the image of

the one who had commanded him to bear the sign to the bishop, when he

thought he was only bringing flowers.

The bishop arose, and with due reverence untied the knot that suspended

that sacred cloth from the back of the Indian's neck. He took it to his

Oratory, and, hanging it up with the greatest possible respect, gave

thanks to God for so striking a miracle; and thus he became the

treasurer and depository of the richest jewel in the crown of America.

The bishop detained and ministered unto the Indian that day, and, on the

following, went with a multitude to the hill, in order that he might

point out the spot upon which the Blessed Virgin desired that a temple

might be built.

Arrived at the hill, he indicated the places in which he had seen and

spoken with the Sovereign Queen,[60] and, asking permission to visit his

uncle Juan Bernardino, (whom he had left in danger,) the bishop gave his

consent, and ordered some of his companions to accompany Juan, directing

them, if they found Juan Bernardino well, to bring him thither.

Upon arriving at the village of Tolpetlac and approaching the house of

Juan Bernardino, the convalescent Indian came forth to receive his

nephew and ask why he was accompanied by so honorable a cortege.

Thereupon Juan Diego related what had transpired; when Juan Bernardino,

interrupting him, said, that in the self-same hour in which the Most

Holy Virgin announced his recovery, she had in fact not only cured him,

but had appeared and directed him to build a temple to her at Tepeyacac,

where her image should be called HOLY MARIA DE GUADALUPE.

The servants brought the two Indians to the presence of the bishop;--and

having examined Juan Bernardino concerning his infirmity, the manner in

which he had received his health, and the form under which Our Lady

appeared to him, and many other questions to satisfy himself concerning

such a strange occurrence, which he could hardly credit,--the bishop

took the Indians with him to his palace.

And now the fame of the miracle was rapidly spread abroad through the

whole city; and all the towns folks clamoring to have the sacred image

exposed to the adoration of the public, and running tumultuously to the

palace of the Bishop, he caused it to be borne to the Cathedral Church,

over whose highest altar it was placed during the building of the

hermitage at the place the Indian pointed out. Thither it was

transferred when the edifice was completed, which did not take place in

fifteen days as is the opinion of some Guadalupanian authors, but in two

years and fifteen days, on the 26th day of December, 1533."

[Illustration: COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF GUADALUPE.]

[Illustration: AZTEC SERPENT FIGURE.]

[Illustration: AZTEC SERPENT FIGURES.]

CHAPTER VII.

ANCIENT REMAINS IN THE STATE OF MEXICO.

ANTIQUITIES IN THE MUSEUM--STATUE OF CHARLES IV.--CONDITION OF THE

MUSEUM--FEATHERED SERPENTS--VICEROY'S

PORTRAITS--CORTÉZ--PORTRAIT--ARMOR--PEDRO DE

ALVARADO--IMAGES--VASES--TEZCOCO--PALACE--TROUGH--MASSIVE

MOUNDS--TESCOCINGO--HILL--ITS ANCIENT ADORNMENTS--ANCIENT BELLEVUE

AND RESERVOIR--TEZCOCAN SPLENDOR--BOSQUE DEL

CONTADOR--PONDS--LAKES--ARBORS--PYRAMIDS OF TEOTIHUACAN--HOUSES OF

SUN AND MOON--PATH OF THE DEAD--CARVED PILLAR--PILLAR AT

OTUMBA--PYRAMID OF XOCHICALCO--HILL OF XOCHICALCO--ITS STRUCTURES.

The largest collection of the moveable antiquities of Mexico, belonging

to the Aztec and probably to the Toltec period of the occupation of the

valley or adjacent country, is found in the Museum which occupies two or

three rooms and part of the court yard of the University building. In

the centre of the quadrangle around which this edifice is erected is the

fine bronze statue of Charles IV., cast in the capital by a native

Mexican. It is an admirable work, and before the revolution stood in

front of the cathedral in the plaza or great square. The Spanish

sovereign is habited in an antique Roman dress, and is seated on

horseback. His right hand, holding a baton, is stretched forward, in an

attitude of command and the folds of a massive robe fall gracefully from

his neck, over the hind limbs of his horse. His brow is bound with a

laurel wreath, and a Roman blade rests on his thigh, whilst the animal

is represented in the act of advancing slowly and treading on a quiver

of arrows.

This statue is, of course, liable to some just criticism, founded on the

bad models for horses which the artist had recourse to in Mexico whilst

engaged in his task; and although a due degree of strict adherence to

historical portraiture did not permit him to exalt too much the personal

characteristics of the king, he has nevertheless contrived to infuse a

great deal of power into the statue so as to entitle it to a fair

comparison with some of the best European equestrian works in bronze.

All the minor parts of the figures and their decorations are finished

with the utmost neatness, and another

[Illustration: COURT OF UNIVERSITY.]

proof is given, in this statue of the genius possessed by the natives

for the imitative arts. It was the work of Tolsa, and was first opened

to public view on its pedestal in the plaza, in the year 1803, under the

viceroyal government of Iturrigaray.

In a corner of this court yard, on the left of the portal, amid a

quantity of ancient lumber and relics, are the sacrificial stone and the

gigantic idol statue of Teoyaomiqui, described in the first volume of

this work. Here, too, are the huge serpent images, carved from basalt,

which are presumed to have been used in the worship of Quetzalcoatl--the

"feathered serpent,"--the "god of the air."

After an examination of the massive relics which lie in the court yard

of the University, we ascend by a broad stone staircase to the corridor

surrounding the quadrangle on the second floor. The lower story of this

edifice is occupied by the college chapel and the hall or recitation

room, whose lofty ceiling and windows, gloomy walls, and carved oaken

seats and pulpit, remind the stranger of the fine old monastic chambers

in similar institutions in Europe.

The apartments of the second floor open upon the broad corridor under a

light and tasteful arcade, and several rooms on the northern side are

devoted to the national collections, which, at the period of our visit

to Mexico in 1841 and 1842 were badly arranged and classified. The

salary devoted to the curator was scarcely adequate to support him, and

he probably paid more attention to the politics of the present day than

to the antiquities of the past. Nevertheless, we found him to be an

intelligent gentleman, fond of the relics, images and legends of the

Aztecs. He would, doubtless, have organized the valuable collection had

he been suitably aided, recompensed, or enabled to devote the whole of

his time to the archaiology of his country.

The first apartment on this side of the building is a sort of Spanish

lumber room, the wall of which is _friezed_ with a series of the

viceroys, whilst, in a corner, stand the fragments of a throne, waiting,

perhaps, the order for their reconstruction upon the ruins of the

_presidential chair_. Hard by this royal relic, in appropriate contrast,

is an unfinished bas relief of a trophy of liberty; and above the

sculpture, suspended against the wall in a rough pine coffin, hangs an

Indian mummy, which was exhumed in the fields of Tlaltelolco north of

the capital. Another side of this saloon is occupied by full length

portraits of Ferdinand and Isabella. In the next chamber, west of this,

the mass of the smaller Aztec relics has been collected and preserved in

cases. A small library, containing some ancient manuscripts, and the

splendid work of Lord

[Illustration: VASES FROM TULA.]

[Illustration: ANCIENT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.]

[Illustration: AZTEC MASKS, HATCHETS, PIPES, STAMPS, RING, DISTAFF.]

[Illustration: YOKE, KNIFE, SMALL VASES AND ALTARS USED IN AZTEC

SACRIFICES.]

[Illustration: ANCIENT VASES AND VESSELS.]

Kingsborough on Mexican antiquities, are preserved in this apartment,

while on the surrounding shelves, are deposited specimens of the

pottery, vases, pipes, idols, images, bows, arrows, axes, masks,

sacrificial instruments, beads and altars of the Aztecs.

Around the frieze of this room, as around that of the preceding, are

portraits of Mexican viceroys, at the head of which is the picture of

the conqueror Hernando Cortéz, from which the engraving in these volumes

has been accurately copied. Its authenticity is unquestionable, for its

history has been carefully traced to the period of the third viceroy,

Don Gaston de Peralta, Marques de Falces. This portrait represents the

hero of the conquest differently from any other picture we have found

either engraved or in oil, and exhibits the mingled air of elevated

veneration and command, of firmness and dignity, reflection and resolute

action, which are the chief historical characteristics of this

personage. In a corner, beneath the portrait, is a plain, unornamented

suit of steel armor, which belonged to the hero. Its small dimensions

convey no favorable impression of the hero's size or strength. The

armor, and patent of nobility granted by Charles V. to Pedro de

Alvarado, the companion of Cortéz, are also preserved in this saloon.

The royal document is exceedingly interesting from the fact that it

contains the autographs of the emperor and of Cortéz, who signed it as

El Marques del Valle de Oajaca.[61] Near these relics of two of the

leaders of the conquering army, preserved religiously under glass in a

golden frame, is the crimson silken banner, bearing the image of the

Virgin, crowned with a golden coronet and surrounded with twelve stars,

under which that army is alleged by the antiquarians to have marched the

second time against the Aztec capital.

In the apartment west of this, and facing on the plaza del Volador, are

the collections in natural history, which have been chosen apparently,

rather as curiosities than for scientific purposes. The specimens of

birds, beasts and reptiles, are indifferently preserved and classified,

and even the collection of minerals, which, in Mexico, ought to be of

the most perfect character, scarcely deserves mention as an important

illustrative cabinet.

* * * * *

The number of small images, which are usually called idols, contained in

the cases of the principal saloon is very large, and specimens are

presented from most parts of the territory comprised in the empire of

the Aztec sovereigns, as well as from Mechoacan. Some of the finest of

these, both large and small, are exhibited in the plates annexed to this

section; and we do not describe them minutely or singly, because they

depend for their interest upon their forms, which are better depicted in

drawings than language. Most of these were carefully delineated and

measured by the author of this work himself, and their accuracy may be

confidently relied on.

Two of the most beautiful and rare objects comprised in this collection,

are the terra-catta funeral vases, one of which is represented in the

accompanying engraving. It was exhumed some years ago in the northern

suburb of the capital, known as St. Juan Tlaltelolco, the neighborhood

of the ancient site of one of the Aztec teocallis. It is one foot ten

inches high, and one foot three and a half inches in diameter. Its upper

portion was filled with human skulls, and the lower with bones of the

rest of the frame, while the top was carefully covered with the circular

lid, which is given in the plate. The Indian head, winged and crowned

with a circlet of twisted bands and feathers, the graceful handles, and

the semicircle of sunflowers and ears of corn, which curves beneath the

central ornament, will give the reader an accurate idea of the reliefs

with which this vase is adorned. Besides these symbols of eternity,

fruition and fullness, the vessel still exhibits the brilliant colors of

blue, vermillion, lake, yellow and brown, with which it was originally

tinted.

Some beautiful specimens of the ancient musical instruments of the

Aztecs, are also preserved in this museum, and correct drawings of their

flageolets, whistles, drums and rattles, will be found in the

engravings.

TEZCOCO--TESCOCINGO.

We turn naturally from the ancient capital of the Aztec empire to the

remains of art and architecture which are yet found on the site of

Tezcoco, the second city in the realm, and in its vicinity. It was in

this place that Cortéz prepared for his second assault upon the city of

Tenochtitlan or Mexico, and here he put together and launched on the

lake the vessels which he had caused to be fashioned in Tlascala on the

other side of the mountains that bound the eastern edge of the valley of

Mexico. The spot where these vehicles of his troops across the waters of

Tezcoco were first deposited in their proper element is still pointed

out by the inhabitants, and is known as El Puente de las Brigantinas,

though it is now more than a mile from the shore of the lake.[62]

[Illustration: FUNERAL VASE AND COVER.]

In the north-west section of the modern town of Tezcoco, on the top of a

shapeless mass of pottery, bricks, mortar and earth, which is thickly

overgrown with aloes, there are several large slabs of basaltic rock,

neatly squared and laid due north and south. According to the legends of

the spot this is the site of one of the royal residences, and like most

of the antiquities of Mexico, is connected with the name of the best

known emperor, as the palace of Montezuma. When Mr. Poinsett visited

Tezcoco in 1825, this heap had not been pillaged for modern

architectural purposes, as much as it has been since that period. Among

the ruins of the supposed palace he then found, a regularly arched and

well built passage, sewer, or aqueduct, which was formed of square

stones the size of bricks, cemented with the strong mortar which was so

much used by the Indians in all their works. In the door of one of the

rooms he noticed the remains of a "very flat arch," the stones

comprising which were of prodigious size and weight. On this spot, some

years ago, was found the sculptured basin, which, at the period of our

visit, had been transferred to and preserved in the collection of the

Ex-Condé del Peñasco in the city of Mexico.

[Illustration: TROUGH FROM TEZCOCO.]

In the southern part of Tezcoco, are the massive remains of three vast

pyramids, whose forms are still remarkably perfect. They succeed each

other in a direct line from north to south, and, according to our

measurement, are about four hundred feet in extent, on each of their

fronts, along the base line. They are built partly of burned and partly

of sun dried bricks, mixed up with fragments of pottery and thick

coverings of cement, through which neat canals had been moulded to

carry off the water from the upper terrace. Bernal Diaz del Castillo

informs us, that the chief _teocalli_ of Tezcoco was ascended by one

hundred and seventeen steps; and, from the quantity of obsidian

fragments, images, vessels and heads of idols we found upon the sides of

these structures, it is not unlikely, that they, like the _teocallis_ of

the capital were devoted to the same bloody and impious rites. In some

of the private houses of this town, many larger idols or images cut from

basalt are still preserved, and in 1825, Mr. Poinsett saw at the

residence of the commandant several of these figures, which were better

formed and designed than most of the Indian statues he had previously

encountered in his Mexican travels.

TESCOCINGO.

About three miles across the gently sloping levels which spread out east

of the town of Tezcoco, a sharp, precipitous conical mountain rises

abruptly from the plain, which is stripped of the forests that once

probably clothed its sides, and is now only covered with a thick growth

of nopals, bushes and aloes. From the quantity of Indian remains found

on this elevation and in its vicinity, there is no doubt that it was the

site of an Aztec palace, or was connected with the adjacent plain by

some architectural works that have been destroyed in the centuries that

have elapsed since the conquest. The traveller climbs this steep

mountain with great labor, and finds nearly every part of it covered

with the _débris_ of ancient pottery and obsidian; and, in many parts of

his ascent, he is aided by the remains of the spiral road, cut in the

solid rock, which evidently once wound from its base to its top. Fifty

feet below the summit, looking exactly north, the massive stone of the

mountain has been cut into seats surrounding a recess leading to a steep

wall which is said to have been covered with a Toltec or Aztec calendar.

The sculptures upon the rock have, however, been destroyed by the

Indians, who cut through it as soon as they found the spot an object of

interest to strangers. These simple and superstitious beings imagined

that the quest of gold, alone, could induce travellers to leave the

capital, cross the lake, and toil up to the summit of this elevation,

and, accordingly they bored through the carved rock to obtain the buried

treasure, until they have formed a hole in the mountain, which is now

the hiding place and probably the home of a large number of squalid

wretches. On the absolute top of the mountain no traces of an edifice

are now observable; but as the Spaniards supposed it had been desecrated

by Indian rites in the olden time, it has been sanctified by the

erection of a cross, from whose feet the whole valley of Mexico, with

its lakes, plains, towns and majestic panorama of encircling mountains,

bursts on the sight of the wearied traveller.

* * * * *

Returning to the recess from the summit, and winding thence by a spiral

path down the eastern slopes of the hill, we find the road suddenly

ended by a wall which plunges precipitously down the mountain for about

two hundred feet. At this termination of the pathway, cut in the solid

rock, we found another recess, surrounded with seats, while, in the

centre of the area, was a circular basin, a yard and a half in diameter,

and three feet deep, into which water was formerly introduced, through

the small aperture in the square pipe which is delineated in the

engraving.

[Illustration: ANCIENT RESERVOIR.]

This basin has, of course, been also connected with the fame of the

emperor, and is known as "Montezuma's bath." Its true use, however, is

perfectly evident to those who are less fanciful or antiquarian than the

generality of visiters. The picturesque view from this spot, over a

small plain set in a frame of the surrounding mountains and glens which

border the eastern side of Tescocingo, undoubtedly made this recess a

favorite resort for the royal personages at whose expense these costly

works were made. From the surrounding seats, they enjoyed a delicious

prospect over the lovely but secluded scenery, while, in the basin, at

their feet, were gathered the waters of a neighboring spring, which,

whilst refreshing them after their promenade on the mountain, gurgled

out of its stony channel and fell in a mimic cascade over the

precipitous cliff that terminated their path. It was to this shady spot

that they no doubt retired in the afternoon, when the sun was hot on the

west of the mountain, and here the sovereign and his court, in all

probability, enjoyed the repose and privacy which were denied them amid

the bustle of the city. Antiquarianism would be greatly assisted in its

researches and conjectures, if it recollected that the _nature_ of

civilized men is the same in all ages, and that it is easier to judge

the architectural remains of our ancestors by this standard than by the

fanciful or classical rules, which they are dramatically disposed to

conjure up in order to interpret the past.

* * * * *

The hill or mountain of Tescocingo is connected with another hill on the

east by a tall embankment about two hundred feet high, upon whose level

top,--which may be crossed by three persons abreast, on horseback,--are

the remains of an ancient aqueduct, built of baked clay, the pipes of

which are now as perfect as on the day they were first laid. The water

was brought hither by a canal around the hill to which it is connected

by the embankment; while, east of this, and uniting the last hill with

another elevation, there is a second aqueduct raised on an embankment,

which was fed by other aqueducts and canals that formerly conducted the

water from the eastern mountains about three leagues distant.

* * * * *

Such are some of the remains of Tezcocan sumptuousness, in the

neighborhood of the ancient capital of this region; and, together with

the ancient grove of cypresses, known as El Bosque del Contador, lying

across the levels north-west of Tezcoco, may be regarded as the most

remarkable relics of the princes and people of the Tezcocan monarchy.

The grove of the Contador is formed by double rows of gigantic

cypresses, about five hundred in number, arranged in a square

corresponding with the points of the compass and enclosing an area of

nearly ten acres. At the north-western point of this quadrangle another

double row of lordly cypresses runs westwardly towards a dyke, north of

which there is a deep oblong

[Illustration: ANCIENT AQUEDUCT AT TEZCOSINGO.]

[Illustration: PYRAMIDS OF TEOTIHUACAN.]

tank, neatly walled and filled with water. From the soft spongy

character of the soil in the centre of the great quadrangular

grove--which it is impossible for any one to cross without danger of

being mired in the unsubstantial morass,--it is supposed that the vast

area was once occupied by a lake, whose waters were probably forever

renewed by the hydraulic works we have already described in the

neighborhood of Tescocingo. Along the raised banks, and beneath the

shadows of the double line of majestic trees, were the walks and arbors

in which Nezahualcoyotl and his courtiers amused themselves. The ponds

and lakes were filled with fish and frequented by the wild fowl that now

cover the margins of the Mexican lakes; while the same benignant sky and

delicious climate that bless the descendants of the Spaniards, reigned

then, as now, over the dusky children of the soil.[63]

PYRAMIDS OF TEOTIHUACAN.

A ride on horseback of about three hours at a pleasant pace, will bring

the traveller from Tezcoco to the village of St. Juan, lying in an

extensive level bordered on all sides by ridges and mountain spurs,

except towards the east, where a depression in the chain leads into the

plains of Otumba, upon which Cortéz fought so remarkable a battle when

pursued by the victorious Aztecs. In the centre of the levels of St.

Juan are the two remarkable pyramids of Teotihuacan,--the

Tonatiuh-Ytzagual, or "house of the sun," and the Meztli-Ytzagual, or

"house of the moon." These vast masses first break upon the sight as the

ridge is crossed. At that distance the foliage and bushes that cover

them are not easily discerned, and the perfect figure of the original

structure seems to be revealed in all its freshness. As the objects are

approached, however, the work of time upon the monuments becomes

evident. The sharp pyramidal lines are all broken. Aloes, nopals,

magueys, mesquite and parasites crawl and cling over every part of the

ruined heaps; and the whole mass resembles a crumbling but gigantic pile

of rocks and earth, which is scarcely distinguishable from the adjacent

hills until its structure is closely examined.

[Illustration: PLAN OF THE RUINS OF THE PYRAMIDS OF TEOTIHUACAN.]

Ascending the one hundred and twenty-one feet of the house of the Sun,

we reach a level platform on the summit, whence a charming prospect

extends for many miles to the south and east over cultivated fields. At

the southern base of this pyramid, which measures six hundred and

eighty-two feet, there are four small mounds, and beyond these there is

a range of lesser _tumuli_ running towards an elevated square of mounds

lying between the stream west of Teotihuacan and the present road to

Otumba. On the west front, five _tumuli_ surround an oval mound whose

centre is depressed, and all of these jut out westwardly towards a line

of similar grave-like elevations lying on both sides of the avenue that

leads to the house of the Moon. This road is the Micoatl, or path of the

dead, which the ancient writers locate in the valley of San Juan.

The other pyramid, or house of the Moon is smaller, and like its

neighbor is composed of rock, stones, pottery and cement,--covered with

the debris of obsidian and terra-catta images which lie scattered from

the top to the base amid the tangled aloes and creepers that have struck

their roots deeply into the crevices. The house of the Sun is not known

to have any cavity within its body, but in the house of the Moon,

between the second and third terraces, a narrow passage has been

detected, through which two wells or sunken chambers, about fifteen feet

deep, may be reached by crawling on hands and knees over an inclined

plain for a distance of about eight yards. The walls of this cryptic

entrance, and of the sunken chamber are made of the common sun dried

bricks, but there are no remains of sculpture, painting, or bodies to

reward an antiquarian for groping through the dark and dusty aperture.

South of this pyramid of the Moon, is the Micoatl or path of the dead,

to which we have already alluded. Two elliptical elevations rise at the

south-east and south-west corner of the Teocalli, upon each of which

there are three mounds, whilst their diameters are bisected by other

rectilinear elevations upon each of which there are five similar mounds.

Four circular and one square mound lie within the area of this

inclosure, and the whole appears to form a massive portal of tumuli to

the majestic pyramid. A long double line of minor mounds stretches away

to the south on the sides of the avenue, until all traces of them are

lost in the field in front of the temple of the sun with whose groups of

tumuli this path was in all likelihood formerly united. The student will

obtain a better idea of the localities of these remains by examining the

plan which was carefully prepared by the author, on the spot, in 1842.

At B, on the plan, there is a large globular mass of granite measuring

nineteen feet eight inches in circumference, upon which there is some

rude carving which has been found to bear some resemblance to the Aztec

figure of the sun;--and in the semicircular enclosure among the

_tumuli_, at C, is placed the sculptured granite stone, represented in

the annexed cut. It lies due east and west. The dark shadow at B,

represents a sink or hollow three inches deep at the sides, and six at

the top and bottom. This is known as the "fainting stone," as it is

alleged that all who recline on its surface are sure to experience

lassitude, or loose animation for a while!

[Illustration]

OTUMBA.

This place is famous in the ancient history of Mexico, but no remains of

importance have been found in its vicinity or within the limits of the

village. When Mr. Poinsett visited it during his residence in Mexico as

Envoy from the United States, he observed no relic of the past worthy of

examination or record except the fragment of a pillar represented in the

annexed drawing.

[Illustration]

THE PYRAMID OF XOCHICALCO.

About eighteen miles south of Cuernavaca, in the State of Mexico, there

is a _cerro_ or hill, known as Xochicalco or the "hill of flowers,"

whose summit is occupied by the remains of an ancient stone pyramid. The

traveller reaches this eminence after travelling over a wide plain

intersected by deep barrancas, and almost entirely denuded of trees and

shrubbery. The base of this hill is surrounded by the remains of a deep

wide ditch, and its top is attained by five spiral terraces, supported

by walls of stone joined with cement. At suitable distances from each

other, along the edge of this winding path are the remains of bulwarks

fashioned like the bastions of a fortification. On the summit there is a

wide extensive level, the eastern part of which is occupied by three

truncated cones, resembling the smaller mounds found among the pyramids

of Teotihuacan. On the other three sides of the esplenade there are

other masses of stones, which may have also been portions of similar

_tumuli_. The stones of which these lesser mounds were constructed have

evidently been nicely shaped and covered with a coat of stucco.

Passing upward, amid tangled trees and vines, along the last terrace,

and through the cornfield which is cultivated on the plain at top by an

Indian _ranchero_, the traveller at length stands before the remains of

the elegant structure that once crowned the summit with its carved and

massive architecture. The reports of engineers who visited this pyramid

in years long past, and the legends of the neighborhood, declared that

it originally consisted of five stories, placed upon each other at

regular intervals and separated by narrow platforms. But of all these,

nothing now remains except portions of the first body, which is formed

of cut porphyry and covered with the singular emblems which are

accurately represented in the annexed plate of the north-western angle.

Amid the neglect of the viceroyal government, and the revolutionary

disturbances subsequent to the rebellion against Spain, this beautiful

monument of ancient art, seems to have been entirely forgotten, save by

the neighboring _haciendados_ or planters, who used it as a quarry, from

which they might supply the wants of their estates without the trouble

or expense of a stone cutter. In the middle of the eighteenth century

the fine terraces were yet perfect. But, as the country became settled

in the neighborhood, the farmers began to pilfer from the mass, and, not

long before we visited it in 1842, an adjacent land owner had carried

off large loads of the sculptured stones to build a dam in a neighboring

ravine, for the use of his cattle.

[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE PYRAMID OF XOCHICALCO.]

The story of this pyramid that has been thus far spared, is rectangular;

and, facing north, south, east and west, in exact correspondence with

the cardinal points, it measures sixty-four feet on its northern front

above the plinth, and fifty-eight on the western. The distance between

the plinth and frieze is about ten feet, the breadth of the frieze is

three feet and a half, and the height of the cornice one foot and five

inches. The most perfect portion is the northern front; and, here, the

carving in relief, which is between three and four inches deep, is most

distinctly visible. The massive stones,--some of which are seven feet

eleven inches long, by two feet nine inches wide; five feet two inches

long, and two feet six inches broad, and five feet long, two feet seven

inches high, and four feet seven inches broad,--are all laid upon each

other without cement, and kept together simply by the pressure and

gravity of the general architecture. These dimensions of the fragments

of so splendid an edifice will give the reader an idea of the labor and

ingenuity which were employed in its construction. For it must be

remembered, that not only was the Indian skill taxed in the design and

shaping of the stones in the immediate neighborhood, but that the

weighty materials were drawn from a considerable distance, and borne up

a hill three hundred feet in height, without the use of horses. The

terraces supporting the spiral path, and their bastion-like bulwarks,

were subjects of equal labor; while the broad deep ditch, surrounding

the whole, was in itself a work exacting the most patient industry. Few

nations have probably devoted more time and toil to a work which was

perhaps partly religious and partly defensive.

These are the external works upon the Cerro of Xochicalco, but it

appears from good authority, and from the report of the neighborhood,

that the hill itself was partly hollowed into chambers. Some years since

a party of gentlemen, under the orders of government, explored these

subterranean retreats, and, after groping through dark and narrow

passages, whose side walls are covered with a hard and glistening gray

cement, they came to three entrances between two enormous pillars cut

from the rock of which the hill is formed. Through these portals they

entered a chamber, whose roof was a cupola of regular shape, built of

stones placed in circles, while at the top of the dome was an aperture,

which probably led to the surface of the earth or the summit of the

pyramid. Nebel, who visited the ruins some years ago, relates an Indian

tradition, that this aperture ascended immediately above an altar placed

in this chamber, and that the sun's rays fell directly on the centre of

the shrine when that luminary was vertical!

CHAPTER VIII.

STATE OF MECHOACAN--BOUNDARIES--ELEVATIONS--VOLCANO OF

JORULLO--THEORIES OF HUMBOLDT AND LYELL--PRESENT CONDITION--RIVERS

OF

MECHOACAN--CLIMATE--HEALTH--INDIANS--DEPARTMENTS--AGRICULTURE--TOWNS

--MINES--JALISCO--BOUNDARIES--POPULATION--RIVERS--LAKES--DIVISIONS

--MANUFACTURES--AGRICULTURE--FACTORIES--GUADALAJARA--TOWNS--SAN

JUAN DE LOS LAGOS--TEPIC--SAN BLAS--MINES--ISLANDS--MINING

REGION--INDIANS--CHARACTER AND HABITS--CHURCH AND

SCHOOL--EDUCATION--BISHOPRIC--TERRITORY OF

COLIMA--EXTENT--CLIMATE--PRODUCTIONS--TOWNS.

THE STATE OF MECHOACAN.

The State of Mechoacan is the old Spanish Intendencia of Vallodolid, and

includes a great part of the ancient Indian Kingdom of Mechoacan, or

Mechoacan of the Tarascos. It is bounded on the north by Guanajuato,

north-easterly of Querétaro, south-easterly by Mexico, westerly by

Jalisco, and south-westerly, for a short distance, by the Pacific.

This State lies chiefly on the western slope of the Cordillera, and is

cut up by hills and genial vallies. The highest point within its limits

is the Peak of Tancitaro, which, in all probability, is an extinct

volcano. East of this, and south of the village of Ario, the Volcano of

Jorullo burst forth on the night of the 29th of September, 1759.

The great region to which this mountain belongs has been already

described in our account of the geological structure of Mexico. The

plain of Malpais forms part of an elevated platform, between 2,000 and

3,000 feet above the level of the sea, and is bounded by hills composed

of basalt, trachyte, and volcanic tuff, clearly indicating that the

country had previously, though probably at a remote period, been the

theatre of igneous action. From the era of the discovery of the New

World to the middle of the last century, the district had remained

undisturbed, and the space, now the site of the volcano, which is thirty

leagues distant from the nearest sea, was occupied by fertile plains of

sugar cane and indigo, and watered by the two brooks, Cuitimba and San

Pedro. In the month of June, 1759, hollow sounds of an alarming nature

were heard, and earthquakes succeeded each other for two months, until,

in September, flames issued from the ground, and fragments of burning

rocks were thrown to prodigious heights.

[Illustration: THE VOLCANO OF JORULLO.]

"Six volcanic cones, composed of scoriæ and fragmentary lava, were

formed on the line of a chasm which ran in a direction from N. N. E. to

S. S. W. The least of these cones was 300 feet in height, and Jorullo,

the central volcano, was elevated 1,600 feet above the level of the

plain. It sent forth great streams of basaltic lava, containing included

fragments of rocks, and its ejections did not cease till the month of

February, 1760.

"Humboldt visited the country more than forty years after this

occurrence, and was informed by the Indians, that when they returned,

long after the catastrophe, to the plain, they found the ground

uninhabitable from the excessive heat. When he himself visited the

place, there appeared around the base of the cones, and spreading from

them, as from a centre, over an extent of four square miles, a mass of

matter of a convex form, about 550 feet high at its junction with the

cones, and gradually sloping from them in all directions towards the

plain. This mass was still in a heated state, the temperature in the

fissures being on the decrease from year to year, but in 1780 it was

still sufficient to light a cigar at the depth of a few inches. On this

slightly convex protuberance, the slope of which must form an angle of

about 6° with the horizon, were thousands of flattish conical mounds,

from six to nine feet high, which as well as large fissures traversing

the plain, acted as fumeroles, giving out clouds of sulphuric acid and

hot aqueous vapor. The two small rivers before mentioned disappeared

during the eruption, losing themselves below the eastern extremity of

the plain, and reappearing as hot springs at its western limit. Humboldt

attributed the convexity of the plain to inflation below; supposing the

ground, for four square miles in extent, to have risen in the shape of a

bladder to the elevation of 550 feet above the plain in the highest

part. But this theory is by no means borne out by the facts described;

and it is the more necessary to scrutinize closely the proofs relied on,

because the opinion of Humboldt appears to have been received as if

founded upon direct observation, and has been made the ground work of

other bold and extraordinary theories. Mr. Scrope has suggested that the

phenomena may be accounted for far more naturally by supposing that lava

flowed simultaneously from the different orifices, and principally from

Jorullo, united with a sort of pool or lake. As it poured forth on a

surface previously flat, it would, if its liquidity was not very great,

remain thickest and deepest near its source, and diminish in bulk from

thence towards the limits of the space which it covered. Fresh supplies

were probably emitted successively during the course of an eruption

_which lasted a year_; and some of these, resting on those first

emitted, might only spread to a small distance from the foot of the

cone, where they would necessarily accumulate to a great height.

"The showers, also, of loose and pulverulent matter from the six

craters, and principally from Jorullo, would be composed of heavier and

more bulky particles near the cones, and would raise the ground at their

base, where, mixing with rain, they might have given rise to the stratum

of black clay which is described as covering the lava.

"The small conical mounds called 'hornitos' or little ovens may resemble

those five or six small hillocks which existed in 1823 on the Vesuvian

lava, and sent forth columns of vapor, having been produced by the

disengagement of elastic fluids heaving up small dome-shaped masses of

lava. The fissures mentioned by Humboldt as of frequent occurrence, are

such as might naturally accompany the consolidation of a thick bed of

lava, contracting as it congeals; and the appearance of rivers is the

usual result of the occupation of the lower part of the valley or plain

by lava, of which there are many beautiful examples in the old lava

currents of Auvergne. The heat of the 'hornitos' is stated to have

diminished from the first; and Mr. Bullock, who visited the spot many

years after Humboldt, found the temperature of the hot spring very

low,--a fact which seems clearly to indicate the gradual congelation of

a subjacent bed of lava which, from its immense thickness, may have been

enabled to retain its heat for half a century. The reader may be

reminded, that when we thus suppose the lava near the volcano to have

been, together with the ejected ashes, more than 500 feet in depth, we

merely assign a thickness which the current of Skaptar Jokul attained in

some places in 1783.

"Another argument adduced in the support of the theory of inflation from

below, was, the hollow sound made by the steps of a horse upon the

plain; which, however, proves nothing more than that the materials of

which the convex mass is composed are light and porous. The sound called

"_rimbombo_" by the Italians, is very commonly returned by _made ground_

when sharply struck, and has been observed not only on the sides of

Vesuvius and of other volcanic cones where a cavity is below, but also

in plains, such as the Campagna di Roma, composed in a great measure of

tuff and other porous and volcanic rocks. The reverberation, however,

may be assisted by grottoes and caverns, for these may be as numerous in

the lavas of Jorullo as in many of those of Etna; but their existence

would lend no countenance to the hypothesis of a great arched cavity,

four square miles in extent, and in the centre 550 feet high.[64]

"Mr. Burkhart, a German director of mines, who examined Jorullo in 1827,

ascertained that there had been no eruption there since Humboldt's visit

in 1803. He, went to the bottom of the crater, and observed a slight

evolution of sulphurous acid vapors, but the "hornitos" had ceased

entirely to give forth steam. During the twenty-four years intervening

between his visit and that of Humboldt, vegetation had made great

progress on the flanks of the new hills, and the rich soil of the

surrounding country was once more covered with luxuriant crops of sugar

cane and indigo, and there was an abundant growth of natural underwood

on all the uncultivated tracts."[65]

* * * * *

The State of Mechoacan is extraordinarily rich in rivers and streams.

The Lerma, Balsas, Zitacuaro, Huetamo, Cluranúeco, Marquéz, Aztala,

Tlalpujahua, and some smaller streamlets and brooks are found in its

vallies; while the lakes and ponds of Cuizco or Aaron, Patzcuaro,

Huango, Tanguato, and Huaniqueo afford supplies to numerous

neighborhoods. The climate of Mechoacan is regular, not liable to

extraordinary or sudden changes, and remarkably genial. On the Pacific

coast and in its vicinity, as in the other middle and southern States of

the Confederacy, agues and intermittent fevers prevail; but the

population seems to have increased considerably since the beginning of

this century, and even in a larger proportion than in some other parts

of Mexico. In 1849, the number of inhabitants was estimated to be not

less than 590,000. Three Indian tribes still dwell within its borders:

1st, the Tarascos; 2d, the Otomies; 3d, the Chichimecas. The whole

southern half of the State is peopled with Indians.

* * * * *

Mechoacan is divided into 4 departments and 62 municipalities:

1. Department del Norte, with 14 municipalities.

2. " del Oriente, with 15 municipalities.

3. " del Sur, with 11 municipalities.

4. " del Poniente, with 22 municipalities.

These 4 departments contain the three cities of MORELIA, PATZCUARO, and

TZINTZOUTZAN;--the three towns of Zitacuaro, Zamora, and Charo;--256

villages, 333 _haciendas_, and 1,356 _ranchos_, which are divided among

83 parishes.

The agricultural productions of Mechoacan are similar in character to

those of the other Western States of Mexico lying within the same

longitude. The best sugar plantations are about 12 leagues from

Patzcuaro. At the foot of Jorullo, cotton, indigo, cacao and sugar are

planted; and mainoc or cassava, potatoes and yams are sown in genial

spots, whilst maiz, wheat, barley and magueys are cultivated in the

higher and cooler regions. The finest tropical fruits are raised in the

warm portions of the State.

The capital of Mechoacan is Morelia, sometimes called Valladolid, or

Valladolid de Mechoacan. Its modern title is derived from the name of

the insurgent leader Morelos.

MORELIA lies 6,398 feet above the level of the sea, in latitude 19° 42´

North, 103° 12´ 15´´ W. long. from Paris,--between the two streams which

water the Valley of Olid. It is a small, but handsome town, possessing

some fine churches, and a charming passeo and alameda. The climate is

mild and wholesome, but snow falls occasionally during the winter.

PATZCUARO lies on the south-eastern bank of the lake of that name.

TZINTZOUTZAN is about 4 leagues from Patzcuaro, in a northerly

direction, upon the banks of the same lake. It was once the capital of

the ancient Indian Kingdom of Mechoacan, but is now only a small

village of 2,000 inhabitants, who have nevertheless bestowed on it the

title of--"_City._" Some relics of the Tarascan architecture are said to

be found at this place, but we do not possess any authentic accounts or

drawings of them.

ZITACUARO is the capital of the old mining district 7 leagues south of

Angangueo, 6,451 feet above the sea, and contains about 2000

inhabitants. Many small Indian villages are also found in the

neighborhood, but they do not require special notice.

ANGANGUEO is a mining town 7 leagues south of Tlalpujahua, with about

1,900 inhabitants.

San Pedro y San Pablo de Tlalpujahua, also a mining village and

district, 35 leagues north north-west from Mexico, eastward of Morelia,

and about 6 leagues south of the left bank of the Lerma. It lies in a

beautiful mountain region at the foot of the _Cerro del Gallo_, 8,386

feet above the sea. Two leagues north of Tlalpujahua, is the _Hacienda

de Tepetongo_, remarkable for its warm springs, which rising amid

volcanic rocks, maintain a temperature of 27° Reaumeur; and are freely

resorted to by the neighboring Indians. Cuizco; Huaniqueo; Zamora;

Tancuancicuaro; Tarecuato; Tlazazalca, Tanguato, are the remaining towns

and villages in this part of the country deserving mention. In the

Department _del Norte_, we find Sirisicuaro; Santa Anna; Araron;

Copandaro; Teremendo; Pareachecuaro, and Tirepiteo. In the Department

_del Oriente_ lie San Felipé; Patambero; Enadio; Orocutui; Tusantla;

Clirangangueo; Tichiqueo; Huetano Pungarahuato; and Cayuca. In the

Department _del Sur_, are Ario; Tacambaro; Turicato; Churumuco; Santiago

Coalcoman; Uruapan and Tancitaro. In the Department _del Poinente_, we

find Chilchote, with about 4,700 inhabitants, and Tincuindui.

* * * * *

The mining districts of Mechoacan are Tlalpujahua, Angangueo, and

Ozumatlan. Formerly, the mines of Zitacuaro, Ingnaran, and a few other

districts were somewhat renowned for their value; but, at present, they

are either entirely abandoned or only slightly worked.

THE STATE OF JALISCO.

The present State of JALISCO and former Intendency of Guadalajara,

formed together with Zacatecas, the old Spanish kingdom of New Galicia.

It is bounded on the north by Durango; on the north-west by Sinaloa; on

the north and east by Zacatecas and Guanajuato; on the south and

south-east by Mechoacan and the Territory of Colima; and on the west by

the Pacific coast, for a distance of 160 leagues. The State stretches

from 19° 5´ to 23° 55´ of north latitude; and from 103° 45´ to 108° 28´

30´´ west longitude from Paris. Its population is estimated at about

700,000.

The greater part of Jalisco lies on the western slope of the Cordillera;

and its table lands, which resemble those of the great plateau of

Mexico, are somewhat cut up by mountain spurs. The upper regions

consequently are comparatively sterile, whilst the lowlands are rich and

fruitful.

The Sierras of Bayona, in the north-west end of Chalchihuitéc, in the

north-east of the State, are its most remarkable mountain ranges. The

Rio Grande de Santiago is the principal stream in Jalisco; but during

the six months of the dry season, its waters are either extremely

shallow or disappear altogether. The Bayona is a boundary between this

State and Sinaloa.

The LAKE OF CHAPALA, lies about fifteen leagues from the city of

Guadalajara, and forms a basin among the mountains of 36 to 40 leagues

in length by 5 to 8 in breadth. Its usual depth is about six and a half

fathoms. Its scenery is remarkably beautiful, and it supplies the

neighborhood plentifully with fish and water-fowl.

* * * * *

Jalisco is divided into eight Cantons or Departments:--Guadalajara,

Lagos, La Barca, Sayula, Etzatlan, Autlan, Tepic and Colotlan;--containing

8 large cities and towns, 318 small villages, 387 haciendas or

plantations, and 2,534 ranchos or farms.

The agricultural productions of Jalisco combine those of the _tierras

calientas_ and the _tierras templadas_. On the upper plateaus, grain and

agaves are chiefly planted, and on the coast, sugar and cotton. A small

quantity of cochineal is also raised, and in the district of Autlan de

la Grana, plantations of the cacao-tree have been made. All the fruits

of the tropical and temperate zones are readily grown; sheep, mules,

horses, goats, neat-cattle, are raised in great abundance, and not less

than 10,000 head of cattle are found on many haciendas de Gañado.

The manufactures of Jalisco are chiefly confined to rude cotton fabrics

or some fanciful articles of dress. The people are celebrated for their

gold and silver embroidery upon leather which is used in the manufacture

of saddles and horse equipage.

Nearly all the importations into this State come either by land from San

Luis Potosi, the city of Mexico, or San Blas, which is the chief port of

Jalisco on the Pacific. A large portion of the foreign wares are

doubtless smuggled into the interior, or introduced through the corrupt

connivance of custom-house officers along the line of the west coast.

[Illustration: PLAZA OF QUADALAJARA.]

The city of GUADALAJARA, 150 leagues from Mexico, the capital of

Jalisco, is situated upon an extensive plain. Its handsome streets are

airy, and many of the houses well built. There are fourteen squares,

twelve fountains, and a number of convents and churches, the principal

of which is the magnificent Cathedral, whose towers were injured by an

earthquake in 1818. An Alameda is beautifully laid out with irregular

alleys, planted with trees, interspersed with flowers, while, in the

centre, a fountain throws up a constant stream of excellent water.

Within the town, the _Portales_ are the principal rendezvous, and

contain numerous shops and stalls filled with European and East India

fabrics, fruit of all kinds, earthenware from Tonala, shoes, mangas,

saddlery, birds, sweetmeats of Calabazato, and a thousand other

varieties to attract the passers by. Each of the stalls pays a small

ground rent to the convents of Guadalajara, and thus afford an ample

revenue to the brotherhoods.

The population of the town may be estimated at 50,000. Its air is mild

and wholesome, and during the season when the neighboring vegetation is

refreshed by rains, the scenery of Guadalajara is considered as

picturesque as that of the city of Mexico.

In the district of Lagos lies the town of SAN JUAN DE LOS LAGOS, in a

deep ravine, almost upon a level with the river of the same name, and

with its mud houses and wild scenery, offers no evidence of the gay and

festive appearance it presents during the famous annual fair which is

held in it, commencing the 5th of December, and lasting eight days. At

that period, San Juan is the resort of merchants, with their wares from

all parts of the Republic, and all the planters or wealthy rancheros

within an hundred leagues, resort thither with their families.

There is a beautiful church in this town, dedicated to Our Lady of the

Lake, and medals struck in honor of her are sold at the door of the

temple.

In the district of _la Barca_ are the towns of La Barca, Tlachichilco,

Chapala, Axixis, Ojotepec, Aranda and Atotomilco.

In the district of _Etzatlan_, we find the capital village of Etzatlan,

Cocula, San Martin, Améca, Tequila and Agualco.

In the district of _Sayula_, are Sayula, Zapotlan el grande, Zapotitli,

Tuspan and Zacualco.

In the district of _Autlan_, we find Autlan de la Grana, a town with

4,000 inhabitants, La Villa de la Purificacion, with 3,000, Mascota, San

Sebastian and Tecolotlan, which are large villages.

In the district of _Tepic_ lies the town of Tepic, a fine well built

town in the midst of a rich mountain plain, 2,963 feet above the level

of the sea, and next to the capital, the finest and most populous town

in the State. Besides this, there are Pochotitlan, Compostella,

Ahuacatlan, S. Maria del Oro, Santiago, Centispac, Acaponeta, and

Guajicoria. Three leagues north-east of the latter, a warm spring is

found in the neighborhood of the _Cerro de Huicalapa_.

The capital of the district of _Colotlan_, is San Antonio de Colotlan,

containing about 4,000 inhabitants. In this district we also find Santa

Maria, a large and populous village lying 5,659 feet above the sea,

Huejucar, Cartagena, Tlaltenango and Bolaños, a mining town.

The best sea-port of Jalisco is that of San Blas, whose town lies in 21°

32´ 24´´ north latitude and 107° 35´ 48," west longitude from Paris,

upon a rock of basaltic lava, 90 feet high, isolated entirely on three

sides, and reached by a bad road on the fourth. The haven is

land-locked, and the anchoring ground good and deep; but during the

rainy season the levels around the rock which is the foundation of the

town, become filled with stagnant pools until the whole adjacent country

is covered with water. The burning sun of the coast acts rapidly upon

these shallow marshes and fills them with insects and miasma. San Blas

soon becomes uninhabitable, and its population betake themselves either

to Tepic, Guadalajara, or the first elevations of the mountains in the

interior.

* * * * *

The only mining region of any note in Jalisco is that of Bolaños. The

mines of Hostotipaquillo, near Tepic, are now abandoned; those of

Guichichila, Santa Maria del Oro, Santa Martin and Ameca, in the

district of Etzatlan, in the neighborhood of Cocula, are partially

wrought. Among the unexplored sites of base and spurious metals in this

State, we may mention those found in the vicinity of Compostella, those

near the ranchos of _Rosa Morada_ and _Buena Vista_, towards the coast,

between the villages of Santiago and Acaponeta, and those near

Guajicoria, north of the last named village.

The Islands of La Isabela, San Juanico and Marias, lie on the Pacific

coast of Jalisco.

* * * * *

The aborigines of Jalisco, formerly warlike and devoted to a bloody

religion, belong to the tribes of Cazçanes, Guachichiles and Guamanes.

They are most generally tillers of the ground, adhering to the doctrines

of the Catholic church, and they have particular fondness for settling a

while in lonely and wild regions, and for changing their place of

residence frequently. The manners and customs of the Guachichiles are in

many respects peculiar. They still use the bow and arrow as weapons.

Their quivers are made of deer and shark skins, and the points of their

reed arrows are formed of a hard wood and rarely of copper. The garments

of the men consist of a kind of short tunic, roughly made by themselves

of blue or brown cotton material, with a girdle hanging down in front

and behind, to which is generally added a pair of trousers of tanned

goat or deer skin. Married persons, men as well as women, wear straw

hats with broad rims and high crowns, ornamented with a narrow ribbon of

bright colored wool and tassels. Their black bushy hair is worn very

long, bound with bright colored ribbons and tassels, or plaited in

queues. No unmarried person, male or female, dare wear a hat. The women

are clothed with an under garment of rough wool or cotton and a mantle

of the same material, which has an aperture on top through which they

pass their heads. When sober they are peaceable and easily controlled,

but when intoxicated violent and quarrelsome. At marriage the husband

has the right of taking his wife on trial and of sending her back to her

parents after some time if she should not please him, and this, even if

she should be pregnant by him. This, however, does not prevent such a

female marrying afterwards. If she gives satisfaction, the husband has

the ceremony performed by a priest or monk, who for this purpose makes a

yearly circuit, and often performs the marriage and a baptism at the

same time!

Church and school matters, particularly the latter, are provided for in

the State of Jalisco in an inferior manner to other parts of the Mexican

Republic. A few years ago, there were in the entire State only 113

elementary schools attended by not more than 6,167 children. The

instruction was limited almost exclusively to reading, for of this

entire number, according to official accounts, there were not more than

2,092 learning to write. For instruction in the higher branches there

were in the entire State only two indifferent institutions located in

the capital--one the Seminario Conciliar for instruction of the clergy,

with thirteen chairs and a species of academy, founded since the

revolution, called El Instituto, with chairs for anatomy, modern

languages, mineralogy, mathematics, &c. The seminary was attended by 120

boarders and 329 day scholars. The institution had one director, ten

professors, two assistant teachers, a secretary, etc.; the available

funds of the same consisted, independent of a fee paid by the wealthier

scholars, of scarcely any thing but an addition of two thousand and

seventy dollars granted by the State treasury. Jalisco felt deeply this

sad condition of public instruction, and numerous propositions for its

amelioration and thorough reformation were made, but money was wanting

and fit men for the professorships, and discretion and tact on the part

of the authorities, and it is scarcely to be expected that since that

time public instruction has been essentially bettered. The "Instituto"

since then has been made a university. The State forms a separate

bishopric. It was erected in the year 1548, and embraced at that time in

like manner the present States of Durango and New Leon. The bishop had

his seat first at Compostela; in 1569 it was transferred to Guadalajara.

In 1631 Durango was separated from Jalisco, and in 1777 both were made

distinct bishoprics. The episcopal chapter of Jalisco consisted of three

dignitaries, four canons and four prebendaries.

THE TERRITORY OF COLIMA.

This territory is bounded north by Jalisco, south by Mechoacan, east by

both of these States, and west by the Pacific. It extends between the

degrees of 18° 18´ and 19° 10´ of north latitude, and 102° 51´ and 104°

2´ west longitude from Greenwich. Its surface is generally level, broken

by hills, from among which rises the mountain of Colima, the westernmost

of Mexican volcanoes. It lies in the north-eastern corner of the

Territory, and reaches a height of 9,200 feet above the level of the

sea.

The climate of Colima is warm--on the coast it is hot--but the territory

is generally considered healthy and fruitful in all portions. Its

population is estimated at about 45,000. Cotton, sugar, tobacco and

cacao are produced by its agriculturists, while on the coast large

quantities of salt are made from the waters of the sea. Rich iron

deposits have been recently found, and individuals have commenced

developing this important source of national wealth.

The chief town of the Territory is COLIMA, about two leagues south of

the volcano, containing between fifteen and twenty thousand inhabitants.

The other towns and villages are Almoloyan, with 4,000 people, Xala,

Ascatlan and Texupa. The haven of Manzanillo, or port of Colima, as it

is sometimes called, is seventeen leagues west of the capital; and with

but small expense to government might be made one of the best anchorages

in the Republic.

[Illustration: THROWING THE LAZO.]

CHAPTER IX.

SINALOA--BOUNDARIES--CLIMATE--DIVISIONS--INDIANS--PRODUCTS--TOWNS--MINES.

--SONORA--BOUNDARIES--DIVISIONS--RIVERS--CLIMATE--INDIANS--TRADE--TOWNS

--MINES.--TERRITORY OF LOWER

CALIFORNIA--BOUNDARIES--CHARACTER--POPULATION--PRODUCTS--PEARLS--SALT

--MINES--SEALS--WHALES--CLIMATE--PORTS--TOWNS--POPULATION.--STATE

OF GUERRERO.

THE STATE OF SINALOA.

Sinaloa is bounded on the south by Jalisco, on the east by Durango, on

the south-west by Chihuahua, on the north by Sonora and on the west by

the Pacific coast for a distance of 200 leagues along the Gulf of

California. It lies between 22° 35´ and 27° 45´ of north latitude and

107° and 113° west longitude from Paris. The river Cañas divides it from

Jalisco, and the Mayo from Sonora. Its length from south-east to

north-west is about 180 leagues, and its breadth in the centre 50 to 56

leagues. This State is partly mountainous and partly level coast land.

On the east it lies on the limits of the Cordilleras of Mexico. The

levels begin in the west near the boundaries of Jalisco, and stretch out

their broad sand-wastes to the town of Alamos and the river Mayo, until

they are lost in the State of Sonora. This region is scorched with a

blazing sun, and is of course but thinly peopled and little cultivated.

Near the city of Alamos a more genial country begins. The central and

eastern parts of Sinaloa are rich in table lands and values, while the

slopes of the mountains are thickly wooded. In the interior the rains

are not heavy nor the warmth intense. A mild and genial air prevails

during the whole year; but on the coast the heat is excessive, and all

who are able escape from it into the interior.

The State of Sinaloa is divided into three departments:--

1st. The department _del Fuerte_, with three cantons, viz: Fuerte,

Alamos and Sinaloa.

2d. The department of _Culiacan_, with two cantons, viz: Culiacan and

Cosalá.

3d. The department of _San Sebastian_, with three cantons, viz:

Sebastian, Rosario and Piastla.

The principal streams and rivers of this State are those of las Cañas,

or Rio de Bayóna, the boundary line in the direction of Jalisco; the

Rosario, and the coast streams of Mazatlan, Piastla, Elota and Tavala.

There are besides these the Culiacan or Sacuda, Imaya, Mocorito, Ocroni,

del Fuerte and Mayo.

The Indians belong to various tribes. The Coras, Nayarites, and

Hueicolhues are found in the south; north of these dwell the Sinaloas,

Cochitas and Tubares; and still further north, on the streams of the

Ocroni, Ahomé, del Fuerte and Mayo, we find some tribes of Guasáres,

Ahomes and Ocronis. The Mayos inhabit chiefly the regions west and

north-west of the town of Alamos.

The white inhabitants of this State are chiefly descendants of emigrants

from Biscay and Catalonia in Spain.

* * * * *

Sinaloa is regarded as a productive State, and yields good crops of

grain in the portions which are easily irrigated. Wheat, Indian corn and

barley, together with some cotton, sugar and tobacco, are cultivated

successfully; whilst all sorts of fruits and vegetables are found in

abundance.

The principal towns are Mazatlan, a port with anchorage on the west

coast, which is much visited by European and American vessels, and has

been the seat of a very large smuggling trade in which the wares of

India and of northern nations were exchanged for the precious metals of

Mexico, her grain and skins.

Asilos del Rosario and the Villa de San Sebastian lie in the department

of San Sebastian. San Ignacio de Piastla is the capital of a canton.

Culiacan lies in the department of Culiacan. Sinaloa or Villa de San

Felipe y Santiago de Sinaloa, the Villa del Fuerte or Montesclaros, and

Alamos, are the other towns of note in this State.

Sinaloa is rich in metallic deposits of base and precious metals, the

chief of which are found at Asilos de Rosario, Cosala, Copala, Alamos,

and San José de los Mulatos.

THE STATE OF SONORA.

Sonora bounds eastwardly on Chihuahua and New Mexico; southwardly on

Sinaloa; and westwardly on the Gulf of California for 238 leagues

between the mouths of the Mayo and the Colorado. Its northern boundary

is now the line which divides the Republic of Mexico from the

Californian possessions of the United States.

The western and southern portions of Sonora are generally flat. In the

south, between the rivers Mayo and Yaqui and the Presidio of Buena

Vista, there is a fruitful region, whose productiveness is enhanced by

a number of small lakes formed during the rainy season on the levels,

which are used by the careful agriculturists for the irrigation of their

farms. On the eastern boundary of the State, the ridges of the

Cordillera begin to rise, until they tower into the massive mountains

which form the Sierra Madre, among the spurs of which many valuable

metallic deposits have been discovered. The fine and productive vallies

of Bavispe, Oposura, Sonora and Dolores are found in the neighborhood of

this mountain country.

Sonora is divided into two Departments:

1st. The Department of Arispe, with three cantons, viz: Arispe, Oposura

and Altar.

2nd. The Department of Horcasitas, with three cantons, viz: Horcasitas,

Ostimuri, and Petic.

The chief rivers are the Mayo, the boundary in the direction of Sinaloa;

the Yaqui or Hiaqui; the Rio Grande de Bavispe; Oposura; Sonora;

Dolores; Guayamas; Rio de la Ascencion; San Ignacio; Gila; San Francisco

or Rio Azul; San Pedro; Santa Maria and the Rio Colorado.

The climate of Sonora is warm throughout the year; but the early spring

is subject to remarkable and rapid changes of temperature, and to sudden

variations of wind between the north and east. From April to the end of

September the thermometer ranges between 75° and 84° Fahrenheit.

A large portion of Sonora is occupied by Indian tribes, some of which

are partially agricultural where they have been brought into contact

with the whites; but the greater portion may be regarded as belonging to

the wild nomadic bands which have hitherto harassed the northern

settlements of Mexico. In the eastern part of the State, on the banks of

the Sonora and Oposura, and in the vicinity of the town of Arispe and

the mineral region of Nocasari, we find large numbers of the Opátas.

North of the Ascencion, and stretching far inland from the coast, are

the Pimos Altos, the most northerly bands that have submitted to the

influences of Christianity or of partial civilization. The nomadic

tribes in the north and north-east of the State are Papayos or

Papábi-Otawas, the Yumas, the Cucapas or Cupachas, the Cajuenches, the

Coanópas, the Apaches Tontos, the Cocomaricopas, the Pimo Galenos, the

Apaché Gilenos, Apaché Mimbreños, and Apaché Chiricaguis. Of all these

wild and savage tribes, the Apachés are the most uncontrollable.

The trade of Sonora is chiefly carried on at Guyamas, in latitude 27°

40´ N. and 114° W. longitude from Paris,--one of the best harbors in

West Mexico, in a healthy region, containing about 3,000

inhabitants;--and at Petic, forty leagues north north-east from

Guyamas, in about 29° 20´ of north latitude. The latter town, containing

about 8,000 inhabitants, is the depôt for goods imported through the

port of Guyamas which are designed for the northern districts of Mexico.

Besides these two important places, there are the towns of San Miguel

Horcasitas, with 2,500 inhabitants; Arispe, with 3,000; San José de

Guyamas 350 to 400; Bayoreca; Onabas; Presidio de Buena Vista; El

Aguáge; Ures; Babiacora; Banamitza; Batuc; Matape; Oposura; Presidio de

Bavispe; Presidio de Fronteras; San Ildefonso Cieneguilla; Presidio de

Santa Gertrudis del Altar; Oquitoa; Presidio de la Santa Cruz; Presidio

de Tuscon; and Presidio de Tubac.

The mineral characteristics are similar to those of Sinaloa.

THE TERRITORY OF LOWER CALIFORNIA.

The Territory of Lower California is comprehended in that long

peninsular strip of land which extends from the present southern

boundary of the United States to Cape St. Lucas, and which is washed on

the east by the Gulf of California from the point where the Rio Colorado

debouches into it, and on the west by the waves of the Pacific ocean. It

lies between 32° 31´ 59´´ 58´´´, and Cape St. Lucas, in about 22° 45´ of

north latitude.

The country, generally, is represented to be one of the most

unattractive in the warm or temperate regions. The peninsula, about 700

miles long, varies in breadth from thirty to one hundred miles, its mean

breadth being about fifty. The surface of this region is formed of an

irregular chain of rocks, hills and mountains, which run throughout the

central portion of its whole length, and some of which attain a height

of nearly five thousand feet. Amid these dreary ridges there are

occasionally found a few sheltered spots which, though deluged by the

torrents, have not been swept clear of productive earth, and in these

there is a fertile soil of small extent, yielding a thin but nutritious

grass. There are few streams or springs; trees of magnitude are scarce;

and the heavy showers falling on the central rocky peaks and eminences

are drained on the east and west into the Pacific and Gulf of California

by the sloping sides of the peninsula, so as to bear with them into the

sea a large portion of cultivable soil. In the plains and in most of the

dry beds of rivers, water can be obtained by digging wells only a few

feet deep, and wherever irrigation has been adopted by means of these

wells, the produce of the fields has abundantly rewarded the

agriculturist. Much of the soil is of volcanic origin, being washed from

the mountains, as we have already stated, and its yield, by aid of

irrigation, is alleged to be quite marvellous. It is probable therefore,

notwithstanding the unfavorable aspect of the country as seen by a

casual visiter, that its evil repute is chiefly owing to the indolent

and roving character of the inhabitants, and that in the hands of an

industrious and agricultural people, it would be capable of supporting a

population much more numerous than the present. At an earlier period of

the Territory's history, under the dominion of the missions, when very

small portions of the soil were cultivated, and even those but rudely by

the Indians, the four districts of San José, Santiago, San Antonio and

Todos Santos, contained 35,000 souls, whereas the present population of

the whole peninsula is probably not more than nine or ten thousand.

During the epoch when the missions of California still flourished the

general barrenness of this territory did not subdue the energy of the

priestly fathers, who in the sheltered vallies near the different

mission sites, which were carefully selected, produced Indian corn,

grapes, dates, figs, quinces, peaches, pears and olives. Much of these

fruits was preserved and exported to the opposite coast of Mexico. But

these articles, together with pearls, tortoise-shell, bullocks' hides,

dried beef, soap and cheese constituted the whole product and commerce

of the peninsula. The waters of the gulf were in former days more

valuable to the Californians than the shores. During the sixteenth

century the pearl fishery produced a valuable revenue, and towards its

close, six hundred and ninety-seven pounds of the precious article were

imported into Seville from America; but at the last authentic dates of

twenty years past, the fishery in lower California had dwindled into

utter insignificance. Four vessels and two boats were alone engaged in

it; and the two hundred divers who still searched the bottom of the

coasts in their perilous trade, obtained only eighty-eight ounces of

pearls valued at little more than thirteen thousand dollars.

The pearl fishery seems, however, to have revived somewhat, shortly

anterior to the war with the United States, and a report from one of our

most intelligent officers in the Pacific at that period, states that the

annual exportation of pearls amounted then to between forty and fifty

thousand dollars.

Valuable mines of gold, silver, copper and lead are known to exist in

the peninsula, and although only a few are rudely worked, the labor

expended on them is amply rewarded. The salt mines, on the island of

Carmen, in the Gulf of California, near Loreto, are capable of supplying

the whole coast of Mexico and California. The surface of the lake

producing this valuable mineral is covered with a solid crust several

feet in thickness, which is cut in blocks, like ice, and conveyed to the

beach by convicts under the order of the Governor of Lower California,

who has hitherto enjoyed a monopoly of the trade with Mazatlan and San

Blas.

The country about La Paz, situated on the east coast, south of the bay

of La Paz, and near the Pichilingue cove, is represented to be valuable

for grazing. Some of the silver mines near San Antonio, about forty

miles south, are productively wrought. Gold dust and virgin gold are

brought to La Paz, and about one hundred thousand dollars of

_platapina_, are exported from it yearly. The whole coast abounds with

fish, clams and oysters. Among the islands of the gulf immense number of

seal are constantly found, and the whaling grounds on the Pacific coast

are of great value. Magdalena bay alone has, at one time, contained as

many as twenty-eight sail, all engaged in this fishery.

The coasts of Lower California are flat, sandy, irregular, and

frequently indented by coves, inlets and bays, while many islands lie

near and border them in the gulf. The climate is regarded as healthful;

the winter is short, and frost and ice are unknown. A pure air and a

deep blue sky surround and span the region; but the heat of summer is

intense, parching the thin soil, and rendering life almost insupportable

in the more exposed regions, or in the narrow and confined glens.

The principal ports visited by merchantmen or whalers on the west or

Pacific coast, are: 1st. That of San Quentin, in latitude 30° 23´, which

is said to afford a secure anchorage for vessels of every description,

and to be sufficient for the accommodation of a numerous fleet; and

2dly, the bay of Magdalena, which has acquired notoriety from being

resorted to every winter by numbers of whalers. It is protected by the

two large islands of San Lazaro and Margareta, and possesses many of the

characteristics of an inland sea, being navigable for the distance of

more than a hundred miles. It has several commodious anchorages. The bay

of San José, near Cape San Lucas, is ordinarily frequented by coasters,

and is sometimes visited by whalers and men-of-war, being the outlet of

a valley, unusually fertile for Lower California, which extends upwards

of forty miles inland, and affords probably the best watering and

provisioning place on the peninsula, though it is a mere roadstead

yielding no protection in the season of south-easters.

On the west coast of the Peninsula, north of Cape San Lucas, and between

that point and the 24th degree of N. latitude are the bays of San

Barnabé and De los Muertos. Between the 24th and 25th degrees is the bay

of La Paz, an extensive indenture, protected towards the gulf by

numerous isles and islets and affording excellent anchorages for vessels

of any draft or any number. In this vicinity are the principal pearl

fisheries as well as the most reputed mining districts. It is the outlet

of the cultivated valley of Todos Santos and of the produce of the whole

region lying between Santiago and Loreto. The cove or _estero_, opposite

the town of La Paz, furnishes spacious and secure anchorage, which may

be reached by vessels drawing not more than eighteen or twenty feet;

while the cove of Pichilingue, at the south-eastern extremity of the

bay, about six miles from the town, affords anchorage for vessels of any

size; but the inner bay can be reached only by merchantmen. The bar,

however, between the two is only a few yards in extent; and if the

importance of the place should ever justify it, the channel might be

deepened without much expensive labor. There is an anchorage at Loreto

at about 26° north, and there are several places of resort and anchorage

in the bay of Mulejé, between 26° and 27°, but none are deemed secure

for large or small craft at any season. Several other ports are found on

the gulf further north, which are visited occasionally by coasters, but

the region is as yet quite unexplored, and their commercial or military

value is of course unknown. Beyond the bay of Mulejé, which is nearly

opposite the Mexican port of Guyamas on the main continent, the gulf is

so much narrower than further south, that it becomes in a great degree a

harbor itself.

The only towns of any importance on the peninsula are those of Loreto,

and La Paz the capital and seat of government. The population is of

course chiefly an Indian and mixed race, for but few whites were ever

tempted to prolong their residence in this lonely and unattractive

region.

THE STATE OF GUERRERO.

This State was created by virtue of the fourth article of the Acta de

Reformas, passed on the 18th of May, 1847, amending the constitution of

1847. By this article it was agreed that the STATE OF GUERRERO should be

formed of the districts of Acapulco, Chilapa, Tasco and Tlapa, and the

municipality of Coyucan,--the three first of which belonged to the

State of Mexico, the fourth to Puebla, and the fifth to

Mechoacan--provided the legislatures of these three States gave their

consent, within three months.

It is understood that this consent was yielded, but as the organization

of the new State has not been received, no elucidation of the geography

of the region can be given except in the descriptions of the three

original States whose districts were surrendered, and to which the

reader is referred in the preceding pages.

[Illustration: ANCIENT HEADS MADE OF CLAY.]

CHAPTER X.

INTERIOR STATES.

STATE OF

QUERÉTARO--BOUNDARIES--DIVISIONS--CHARACTERISTICS--RIVERS--POPULATION

AND CLIMATE--DISTRICTS, ETC.--AGRICULTURAL

PRODUCTS--FORESTS--FACTORIES--CITIES--MINES.--STATE OF

GUANAJUATO--BOUNDARIES--EXTENT--SOIL--LAKE

YURIRAPUNDARO--CLIMATE--EFFECT OF

MALADIES--PRODUCTIONS--VINE--OLIVE--DIVISIONS--POPULATION--CITY OF

GUANAJUATO--TOWNS IN THE STATE--HACIENDA OF

JARAL--MINES--SILVER--COPPER--LEAD--CINNABAR.--ZACATÉCAS--BOUNDARIES

--EXTENT--AGRICULTURE--DIVISIONS--POPULATION--TOWNS--ZACATÉCAS---

AGUAS CALIENTES, ETC.--PRODUCT AND VALUE OF ZACATÉCAN MINES.--RUINS

OF QUEMADA IN ZACATÉCAS.

THE STATE OF QUERÉTARO.

The State of Queretaro, one of the smallest members of the Republic, is

situated between 19° 35´ 42´´ 7´´´ and 21° 17´ 16´´ 45´´´ of north

latitude. By trigonometrical surveys made in 1837, the State was found

to contain 869 square leagues, which were divided between the six

districts as follows:

1 District of Querétaro 157 square leagues.

2 " San Juan del Rio 128 "

3 " Cadereyta 115-1/4 "

4 " Toliman 114-3/4 "

5 " Jalpam 203-1/4 "

6 " Amealco 150-3/4

-------

Total 869

This State is bounded on the north by the State of San Luis Potosi, west

and south-west by Guanajuato and Mechoacan, south by Mexico, and east by

Mexico and Vera Cruz. It lies entirely on the central plateau of the

Cordillera, and is consequently intersected by numerous mountain spurs

and elevated hills, some of which are entirely bare, while others are

covered with forests of various kinds of wood. The plains are frequently

cut up by deep _barrancas_ or gullies, rivers and streamlets. The

agricultural portions of the State are consequently confined chiefly to

the vallies of San Juan del Rio, Querétaro, Cadereyta, Amealco, Toliman

and Jalpam, in which the soil, enriched by the vegetable products and

debris drained from the

[Illustration: QUERETARO.]

mountain sides, is usually found to be very productive. Querétaro is

generally remarked by travellers for the picturesque character of its

scenery and the beautiful site of its haciendas, cities and ranchos.

Mountainous as is this region, it has no single elevation of remarkable

character in the geography of the republic. In a country thus physically

formed and raised above the sea, important rivers are, of course, not

easily encountered, and although there are fifteen streams which are

dignified by the inhabitants with this title, the only two of importance

are the Tula or Rio de Montezuma, the boundary between the States of

Mexico and Vera Cruz, and the Rio Paté which has cut its deep and stony

bed in the porphyritic rock near San Juan del Rio. The temperature of

the whole region is exceedingly cool and the climate is agreeable and

healthy.

The population assigned to the State in 1845 was 180,161, classified

thus:

Spaniards, Creoles and Europeans, 36,032

Indians, 90,080

Castes, 54,049

-------

Total, 180,161

Querétaro is divided into six districts, comprising eight _partidos_.

1st. The prefecture of Querétaro, with the _partidos_ of the capital and

of La Cañada; in these two are found the town of San Francisco Galileo,

the villages of Santa Rosa and Huimilpam, and the hamlets of Santa Maria

Magdalena and San Miguel Carillo. 46-1/3 inhabitants to each square

league.

2d. The district of the municipality of San Juan del Rio contains the

village of Tequisquiapam, the hamlets of San Pedrito, San Sebastian, and

the _rancheria_ of La Barranca de los Cocheros. 71 inhabitants to each

square league.

3d. The district of the municipality of Cadeyreta which contains the

mining posts of El Doctor and Maconi, and the villages of San José

Vizarron, San Gaspar, San Sebastian de Brual, and San Miguel Tetillas.

183-2/3 inhabitants to each square league.

4. The district of Santa Maria Amealco, containing the village of

Huimalpam and the hamlets of San José de Ito, San Bartolo, San Miguel

Deti, San Juan de Güedó, San Miguel Tlaxcaltepec, San Pedro Tenango, San

Ildefonso, and Santiago Mexquitlan. 80 inhabitants to each square

league.

5th. The district of San Pedro Tolimán, contains the villages of San

Francisco Tolimanejo, Santa Maria Peñamillera, San Miguel Tolimán, San

Miguel de las Palmas, a mission station, Santo Domingo de Soriano, San

Antonio de Bernal, and the mining post of Rio Blanco. 213 inhabitants to

the square league.

6th. The district of Jalpam, contains three _partidos_ and in these

there are two sub-prefectures, which are Landa and Aguacatlan a mining

post; besides these there are the villages of Concá, Sancillo, Bucareli,

Arroyoseco, Tancoyol and Xilapan; the mining posts of San José de los

Amoles and San Pedro Escanela; and the missions of Tilaco and Pacula. 64

inhabitants to the square league.

The whole State is calculated to contain 124 _haciendas_ or large

plantations, and 392 _ranchos_ or farms, while nearly 30,000 of its

inhabitants are engaged in agricultural pursuits.

The products of the soil are similar to those already described in the

other States on the central plateau. In the valleys some of the tropical

productions are found, but grain and cattle form the staples of the

farmer's care. Very thick forests are seldom found in any part of the

State, and many regions are almost entirely denuded. It will be seen

from our chapter upon the manufactures of Mexico, that Querétaro is

remarkable for the zeal and success with which it has applied itself to

this branch of industry. Most of the woollen fabrics of this State are

made of the Lana de Chinchorro which is produced within its limits, and

is commonly sold at $15 per 100 lbs. Besides this there is a species of

cotton, raised in some of the districts, used in the manufacture of a

favorite kind of mantas, shawls and rebozos. The trade of the State is

carried on chiefly with Mexico, Vera Cruz and San Luis Potosi.

The principal city is that of Querétaro, the capital and seat of

government, lying in 19° 58´ 2´´ 15´´´ N. latitude, and 1° 5´ W.

longitude from the meridian of Mexico, 6,365 feet above the sea. This

fine, picturesque and well built town, containing about 50,000

inhabitants, is situated on the sides and summit of converging hills,

and is divided into several parishes, or _curatos_, some of which are in

the body of the city and others in the suburbs, being separated from the

rest by a scant stream which has been dignified with the title of El

Rio--the river. Querétaro stands nearly 7,000 feet above the level of

the sea, and enjoys a delightful temperature. A noble aqueduct, two

miles in length, with arches ninety feet high, spanning a plain of

meadow land--joins a tunnel from the opposite hills, and supplies the

city with an abundance of excellent water from a distance of two

leagues. It is a magnificent and enduring structure, and the honor of

its erection is due to the taste and judgment of the Marquis de Valero

del Aguila, who caused it to be built at his own cost during his

viceroyal government of Mexico. Querétaro has become interesting in our

history, inasmuch as it was the city in which the treaty of peace

between Mexico and the United States was finally ratified by the Mexican

Congress in 1848.

The other important towns are those of San Juan del Rio, San Pedro de la

Cañada, and Cadereyta.

The chief mining district, and the only one of any note in the State, is

that of _El Doctor_, in the district of Cadereyta. Its principal veins

are those of El Doctor and San Cristoval; but famous as they once were,

they are now of but little importance. The quicksilver mine of San

Onófre, in the same region, is also failing.

The mining districts of El Doctor, Rio Blanco, Maconi and Escanelella,

contain 216 mines--divided as follows: five of gold; 193 of silver; 7 of

copper; 1 of lead; 1 of tin; 6 of quicksilver; 2 of antimony; 1 of

jaldre.

THE STATE OF GUANAJUATO.

The State of Guanajuato is comprehended between 20° and 21° 49´ of north

latitude, and 0° 31´ 05´´ and 2° 51´ of longitude west from the meridian

of Mexico, and is situated upon the grand Mexican Cordillera. It is

bounded on the north by the State of San Luis Potosi, on the south by

Mechoacan, on the east by Querétaro, and on the west by Jalisco and

Zacatecas. Its superficial extent is 1,545 Mexican leagues of 26-1/2 to

the degree. With the exception of the State of Querétaro, Guanajuato is

the smallest of the Republic, yet it contains, comparatively, the

greatest number of inhabitants, as will be seen hereafter.

Large portions of the soil of Guanajuato are fertile; especially the

magnificent and productive plains of the Bajio, in the southern part of

the State, which extend for more than 34 leagues from Apasco to beyond

Leon;--and, in the north, where the splendid plains or Llanos of San

Félipe spread far and wide.

All the _Sierra_ of Santa Rosa forms a chain of porphyritic mountains

and elevations of greater or less elevation, which pass under the

general name of _Cerros_. The highest of these, two leagues, north of

the capital is known as the Cerro de los Llanitos. It rises to the

height of 3,359 _varas_ above the level of the sea, and is the loftiest

in the State. Besides these, there are the _Cerros_ del Gigante, El

Cubilete, La Bufa, La Garrida, La Beata and San Juan de Mendoza.

The river Lerma, anciently known as Tolotlan, and commonly designated in

Guanajuato as the _Rio Grande_, is the only one which really merits

this name in the State, and crosses the southern portion of it for near

35 leagues. The river Laja and the river Turbio are of less consequence;

and all the other streams, though generally known among the people of

these districts by the dignified title of _rivers_, scarcely merit a

higher position among the fluvial characteristics of the State than

brooks or mountain torrents, which only obtain real consideration when

they are swollen by heavy rains.

The lake of Yurirapúndaro, is the only one which belongs to this

State;--it is four leagues long by one and a half in width, and embosoms

several islands. Its sweet waters are filled with small fish, which are

taken daily by the Indians, for the markets of the neighborhood and the

capital, but its actual depth is unknown.

The climate of Guanajuato is genial, its sky nearly always clear, and

its atmosphere pure. Owing to its site, immediately north of the torrid

zone, the inhabitants do not suffer the extremes of heat or cold.

Elevated about 8,000 feet above the level of the sea, its rarefied

atmosphere counteracts the direct rays of the sun, so that its mean

temperature is 21° of the centigrade thermometer, whilst it never

exceeds 28° in the months between April and June, which are generally

reckoned the warmest in this part of the Republic. During this season

the rain usually begins to fall, and lowers the temperature agreeably.

The north wind prevails during the greater part of the year; yet near

the period of the annual rains it changes for a while to the south,

bringing with it an abundance of moist vapor to fertilize the soil.

Nothing is sadder for the people of Guanajuato and the adjacent States

than to find, as sometimes happens, the months passing without this

customary change of wind. In such years the crops fail; the prices of

grain consequently rise, and the poor classes suffer extremely. The year

1786, is known in the annals of this region, as one well remembered

still for the famine that prevailed in consequence of a severe frost

that occurred on the 28th of the preceding August, blighting the

prospects of the farmer, and carrying off 8,000 victims in the capital

and the adjacent mines alone. In the month of May agriculture often

suffers from violent hail storms that prostrate the young grain which at

this season of the year is usually extremely dry in consequence of the

early heats and the want of irrigation.

The mild and pure climate of Guanajuato renders it a healthy residence.

In its southern part, about Salvatierra and Yurirapúndaro, intermittent

fevers, called _los frios_, or agues, occasionally prevail. Dropsy,

rheumatism, common lever, and dysenteries, which usually sweep off large

numbers of Mexicans, are milder and more

[Illustration: GUANAJUATO.]

easily treated in this region than in other portions of the Republic.

The laborers in the mines formerly suffered from diseases of the chest,

arising probably from the mephitic vapors which were confined in the

badly ventilated galleries; but the Deputacion de la Mineria took this

subject into consideration, and have forced the owners of mines by

stringent laws to construct shafts and openings by which these buried

workmen may receive continual supplies of fresh air.

Maize, wheat, frijoles, beans, and the common cereal grains are produced

abundantly in the fertile plains of the Bajio and San Felipé. Corn,

though the chief product for consumption, not only for man but for

beasts, is often so abundant, that the farmers are obliged to export it

to other States. The quality of the wheat of this State is so excellent,

that when it will bear the cost of transportation, it is sent to the

national capital, where it commands a better price than even the grain

raised in the immediate vicinity of the city. The _frijol_,--a fine

dark, nutritious bean, which is commonly used throughout Mexico, by all

classes, from the highest to the lowest,--grows abundantly in

Guanajuato. The Chile pepper is used in Mexico, not only as a seasoning

for food as in other countries, but as an aliment of life, which is

placed on tables of all ranks at dinner. It is consumed both in its

green and dry states, and in the latter, it is exported from Guanajuato

to the capital, where the product of the haciendas or plantations at

Apaseo are preferred by the epicures as being of the best flavor in the

Republic. The vine, is also cultivated in various parts of this State,

especially at Dolores Hidalgo, Celaya, and Chamacuero, but as

manufactories of wine have not been established, its culture does not

extend beyond the quantity of grapes required for consumption in the

markets. The potato does not flourish in this State.

It is believed that the olive may be advantageously reared in

Guanajuato. At the beginning of the present century, Joaquin Gutierrez

de los Rios made the experiment at his _hacienda_ de Sarabia, within the

district of Salamanca. The scarcity and dearness of oil in Spain, at

that period, in consequence of the war, enabled the mill established by

this person to supply the neighborhood with the article at such prices,

that the lucky proprietor realized a large income from his enterprize.

But during the insurrection in 1810, his property was destroyed, and

with it, a large part of his olive plantation. At present, considerable

plantations are making at several haciendas, especially at that of

Mendoza, where 30,000 olive trees had been already planted in 1849.

The State of Guanajuato is divided into four departments or

prefectures:--1st. San Miguel de Allende; 2d. Leon; 3d. Guanajuato; 4th

Celaya; whose capitals or chief towns bear the same names. The

possession by this State of the great and celebrated _Veta Madre_ which

passes nearly through its centre, and of the wide and prolific plains of

the Bajio and of San Felipé renders it equally valuable as a mining and

agricultural region, and divides it fairly between the two branches of

industry. Its population may be estimated at about 560,000; twenty-five

per cent. of which comprises the whites, thirty-six per cent. the mixed

races, and thirty-nine per cent. the Indian. Guanajuato contains three

cities, four market-towns, thirty-seven villages, and four hundred and

fifty estates, plantations and farms.

The capital of the State is the city of GUANAJUATO, or Santa Fé de

Guanajuato, situated in 21° 0´ 15´´ north latitude and 103° 15´ west

longitude from Paris, about 6,869 feet above the level of the sea,

according to the measurement of Burkhart, and containing between 35,000

and 40,000 inhabitants. The town is perhaps the most curiously

picturesque and remarkable in the republic. "Entering a rocky Cañada,"

says a recent traveller, "the bottom of which barely affords room for a

road, you pass between high adobe walls, above which, up the steep, rise

tier above tier of blank, windowless, sun-dried houses, looking as if

they had grown out of the earth. You would take them to be a sort of

cubic crystallization of the soil. Every corner of the windings of the

road is filled with buildings of mining companies--huge fortresses of

stone, ramparted as if for defence. The scene varies with every

moment;--now you look up to a church with purple dome and painted

towers; now the blank adobe walls, with here and there a spiry cypress

or graceful palm between them, rise far above you, along the steep

ledges of the mountain; and again the mountain itself, with its waste of

rock and cactus, is all you see. The Cañada, finally seems to close. A

precipice of rock, out of a rift in which the stream flows, shuts the

passage. Ascending this by a twist in the road you are in the heart of

the city. Lying partly in the narrow bed of the ravine and partly on its

sides and in its lateral branches, it is only by mounting to some higher

eminence that one can realize its extent and position. At the further

end of the city the mountains form a _cul de sac_. The Cañada is a blind

passage which can only be left by the road you came. The streets are

narrow, crooked, and run up and down in all directions, and there is no

room for plazas or alamedas. A little triangular space in front of the

cathedral, however, aspires to the former title." Such is the aspect of

a city which is the focus of a mineral region surrounded by more than

one hundred mines, which are wrought by seventy-five thousand laborers.

In spite of all the natural difficulties and impediments for fine

architecture, Guanajuato contains some fine edifices, especially among

the private residences of the wealthy miners, such as the families of

Otero, Valenciana, Rhul and Perez Galvez. The church of the Jesuits was

built by the Marquis Rayas. Besides the cathedral, the town contains two

chapels, three monasteries, five convents, a college, a Bethlehemite

hospital, a theatre, a barrack, a mint, an university, and a gymnasium.

The VILLA DE LEON, is a market town west north-west from Guanajuato, in

21° 6´ 38´´ north latitude, and 103° 39´ west longitude, 6,004 feet

above the sea, in the productive plain of Leon.

SAN FELIPÉ is another market town, 32 leagues north of Guanajuato, on

the road to San Luis Potosi, 6,906 feet above the sea. Ten leagues

north-east from San Felipé is the valuable estate of Jaral, the property

of the Marquis del Jaral, the wealthiest and largest land owner in

Mexico. His stock of cattle, comprising horses, mules, horned-cattle,

sheep and goats amounts to nearly three million head![66] Thirty

thousand sheep alone, and as many goats, are annually slaughtered on

this estate for the markets of Guanajuato and Mexico, where the sheep

sell for from two and a half to three dollars a piece, and the goats

from seventy-five cents to one dollar each!

CELAYA is a city, and next in importance to Guanajuato in the State. It

lies in 20° 38´ north latitude, and 102° 52´ west longitude, near the

boundary of Querétaro, 6,020 feet above the sea, and contains about

15,000 inhabitants.

SALAMANCA is a market town in the Bajio, nine leagues west from Celaya,

and is the chief place of a region possessing twenty-nine haciendas, or

plantation estates, and sixty-nine valuable farms. Its population is

estimated at 15,000. Irapuato, lies about six leagues north-west from

Salamanca, and contains perhaps an equal number of inhabitants.

SAN MIGUEL ALLENDE, formerly _San Miguel el Grande_, is the capital of

the department of that name, lies directly north of Celaya, on the river

de la Laja, where it cuts the division between the two departments.

Dolores Hidalgo is on the same stream, north-west of the last town, and

is remarkable in the annals of the country as the residence of the

priest Hidalgo, under whose auspices the revolutionary movement against

Spain originated.

The mineral products of this State have been and still continue very

valuable. The chief silver mines are those of Guanajuato, Villalpando,

Monte de San Nicolas, Santa Rosa, Santa Anna, S. Antonio de las Minas,

Comanja, El Capulin, Comangilla, San Luis de la Paz, San Rafael de los

Lobos, El Duranzo, San Juan de la Chica, Rincon de Zenteno, San Pedro de

los Pozos, El Palmar de la Viga, San Miguel y San Felipé. All these

mines and mineral districts recognize the jurisdiction of the Deputacion

de Mineria de Guanajuato, although some of them lie out of the immediate

boundaries of the State.

Besides the silver yielded at these places, copper and iron are produced

by some of them; and at El Gigante cinnabar has been discovered

disseminated among other substances. Lead is taken abundantly from the

mine of La Targea; but the mining operations of the State are chiefly

confined to silver.

In the southern part of the State large quantities of soda are found

near Celaya, Salamanca and Valle de Santiago; and in the north, in the

vicinity of San Felipé, the earth is impregnated, in many places, with

nitrate of potash or nitre. Mineral waters and thermal springs exist on

the southern slope of the Cerro del Cubilete, near Silao, and are used

by invalids; while in the jurisdictions of Leon, near Irapuato or San

Miguel Allende and Celaya, other warm and sulphur springs are found

which are beneficially frequented by persons who suffer from rheumatism

and cutaneous diseases.

THE STATE OF ZACATECAS.

This rich metallic region and State lies between the 21st and 25th

degrees of north latitude and 102-1/2 and 105-1/2 west longitude from

Paris. It is bounded on the north by Durango and Nuevo Leon on the east

by San Luis Potosi; on the south-east by Guanajuato; and on the west and

south-west by Jalisco. Its greatest breadth, from Sombrereté to Real del

Ramos, in the State of San Luis, is fifty-seven leagues, and its extreme

length is 90. The superficial area of the State is reckoned at 2,355

square leagues.

Zacatécas is a mountain country of the high plateau of Mexico, cut up by

spurs of the Cordillera and inhospitably arid. The region between

Catorcé in San Luis Potosi, and Sombrereté and Mazapil in Zacatécas is a

broad plain, interspersed by a few

[Illustration: ZACATECAS.]

swelling knolls, and an occasional group of hills or small mountains.

The agricultural productions are of course suitable to such a geological

structure; but in the _Haciendas de Ganado_, or cattle farms, immense

herds are constantly raised by the thrifty vaqueros of this region. As

the country is unusually dry, water tanks, _algibes_, and _norias_ are

established on all the estates, and are watched with the greatest care.

There is no river of any note whatever in Zacatécas. The Arroyo de

Zacatécas, the Rio Xeres, the Rio Perfido, del Maguey, and Bañuelos, are

but slender streams.

Zacatécas is divided into eleven partidos or districts. 1st. Zacatécas,

2d Aguas Calientes, 3d Sombrereté, 4th Tlaltenango, 5th Villa Nueva, 6th

Fresnillo, 7th Xeres, 8th Mazapil, 9th Piños, 10th Nieves, and 11th

Juchipila; possessing in all 3 cities, 5 market towns, 34 villages and

mining works, 139 agricultural and cattle farms, 562 smaller similar

establishments, 683 ranchos, 11 convents for monks, 4 for nuns, and four

hospitals. The population has been calculated at about 350,000; and it

is remarkable that, according to reliable statistical data, 14,937 more

individuals were born than died in this State during the year 1830.

Births,{males, 14,709 Deaths {males, 7,012 Births, 28,795

{females, 14,086 {females, 6,846 Deaths, 13,858

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

28,795 13,858 Increase, 14,937