Calientes. The best cultivation begins at the _hacienda_ of San Jacinto,
12 leagues from the town of Zacatécas, and in this region it is reckoned
that the farmers annually gather from their harvests, 140,952 fanegas of
Corn (of 150 lbs.); 4,719 cargas (of 300 lbs.) of wheat; 7,293 fanegas
of frijoles or beans, and 4,291 arróbas (of 25 lbs. each,) of chile.
The mainspring of the wealth of Zacatécas is its mineral production. The
vein of the Veta Negra of Sombrereté has been the most productive in the
new or old world. El Pavellon, La Veta Grande, San Bernabé, and the
isolated hill of Proaño at Fresnillo constantly yielded in former times
the most extraordinary results for the labor bestowed in working them.
Their present value may be estimated from the chapter on Mines in the
preceding book.
The chief cities, towns and villages of this State are the capital,
ZACATÉCAS, containing from 25,000 to 30,000 inhabitants. It lies in 22°
47´ 19´´ of north latitude and 164° 47´ 41´´ west longitude, at an
elevation of 7,976 feet.
The town itself is not visible until the traveller approaches within a
mile and a half, when it is seen below following the turns of a deep
barranca or ravine, of which the mountain of _la Bufa_, with a chapel on
its crest, forms one side. The streets are narrow and dirty, and swarm
with uncleanly children, whose appearance, like that of their squalid
parents, is by no means prepossessing. But the distant view of the city
is picturesque from the number of religious edifices which rise above
the roofs of the other buildings. In the vicinity of the _plaza_ there
are some fine houses, and the market place presents a curious and busy
provincial scene.
AGUAS CALIENTES is situated upon the banks of a stream of the same name,
in a broad and rich valley, at the distance of 25 leagues south of
Zacatécas. The neighborhood is famous for its warm thermal springs; the
chief of which, El Baño de la Cantera, lies a league south-west of the
town. Aguas Calientes contains several thousand inhabitants and is
celebrated for its woollen manufactories, among which the one belonging
to the family of Pimentel employed about 350 men and women at its looms.
FRESNILLO is a mining town, and capital of its district, 14 leagues
north-west from Zacatécas, in the wide plain which divides the mountains
of Santa Cruz and Organos from the mountain ranges about Zacatécas. It
lies at the foot of the isolated knoll of Proaño, in which its mines are
situated. The neighborhood of the town is pretty, but the region which
intervenes between it and Sombrereté is a waste and sterile moorland.
SOMBRERETÉ is a mining town, and capital of its district, 25 leagues
north-westward of Fresnillo, lying at the foot of the mountain of
Sombreretillo, or "little hat," whose name is derived from a singular
formation of rock on its summit which resembles that article of dress.
In its vicinity are the once renowned and rich mines of La Veta Negra
and El Pavellon.
Upon the table lands between Sombrereté, Fresnillo, and Catorcé, in the
State of San Luis, are several towns or villages deserving of notice,
and the _hacienda_ of Sierra Hermosa, a cattle estate, which is one of
the most remarkable in the Republic for its extent and production. It
covers an area of 262 _sitios_ or square leagues, and supports immense
herds of horned cattle, horses, mules, goats and sheep. The latter,
alone, are estimated at 200,000 head, about 30,000 of which are annually
disposed of. The wool yielded by these animals amounts to from 4,000 to
5,000 arrobas yearly.
The other towns and villages of note are ASIENTOS DE IBARRA, Xeres,
Villanueva, Mazapil.
[Illustration: RUINS OF QUEMADA.]
The Sierra de Piños, Chalchiguitéc, Los Angelos, Plateros, and other
metallic deposits were formerly celebrated for their productive value;
but they are now either partially or entirely abandoned.
We may deduce some interesting statistical information from the labors
of Berghes in regard to the mineral wealth of Zacatécas and the
productiveness of its mines. According to the tables of this writer,
published in 1834, it appears that from the year
1548 to 1810 the mines of this region produced $588,041,956
1810 to 1818 " " " 20,060,363
1818 to 1825 " " " 17,912,475
1825 to 1832 " " " 30,028,540
------------
$656,043,335
These rates gave an annual mean product, from
1548 to 1810 " " " of $2,244,434
1810 to 1818 " " " " 2,507,545
1818 to 1825 " " " " 2,558,925
1825 to 1832 " " " " 4,003,128
It will be seen by reference to our table on page 88 of this volume,
that the value of the products of Zacatécas in the ten years from 1835
to 1844, was $43,384,215; giving a mean annual rate of $4,338,421, and
exhibiting the important fact, in spite of revolutionary troubles and
consequent social, commercial and industrial disorganization, that the
mineral yield of this region, instead of diminishing, has steadily
_increased_ with every year. In 1845, the _Mint_ in Zacatécas issued
$4,429,353.
* * * * *
The State of Zacatécas contains some remarkable remains of Indian
architecture on the CERRO DE LOS EDIFICIOS, situated two leagues
northerly from the village of Villanueva, twelve leagues south-west from
Zacatécas, and about one league north of La Quemada, at an elevation of
7,406 feet above the sea.
RUINS NEAR QUEMADA.
"We set out," says Captain Lyon, in a volume of his travels in Mexico,
"on our expedition to the Cerro de los Edificios under the guidance of
an old ranchero, and soon arrived at the foot of the abrupt and steep
rock on which the buildings are situated. Here we perceived two ruined
heaps of stones, flanking the entrance to the causeway, ninety-three
feet broad, commencing at four hundred feet from the cliff.
"A space of about six acres had been enclosed by a broad wall, the
foundations of which are still visible, running first to the south and
afterwards to the east. Off its south-western angle stands a high mass
of stones which flanks the causeway. In outward appearance it is of a
pyramidal form, owing to the quantities of stones piled against it
either by design or by its own ruin; but on close examination its figure
could be traced by the remains of solid walls to have been a square of
thirty-one feet by the same height: the heap immediately opposite is
lower and more scattered, but, in all probability, formerly resembled
it. Hence the grand causeway runs to the north-east till it reaches the
ascent of the cliff, which, as I have already observed, is about four
hundred yards distant. Here again are found two masses of ruins, in
which may be traced the same construction as that before described; and
it is not improbable that these two towers guarded the entrance to the
citadel. In the centre of the causeway, which is raised about a foot and
has its rough pavement uninjured, is a large heap of stones, as if the
remains of some altar, round which we can trace, notwithstanding the
accumulation of earth and vegetation, the paved border of flat slabs
arranged in the figure of a six rayed star.
"We did not enter the city by the principal road, but led our horses
with some difficulty up the steep mass formed by the ruins of a
defensive wall, inclosing a quadrangle two hundred and forty feet by two
hundred, which to the east, is sheltered by a strong wall of unhewn
stones, eight feet in thickness and eighteen in height. A raised terrace
of twenty feet in width passes round the northern and eastern sides of
this space, and on its south-east corner is yet standing a round pillar
of rough stones, of the same height as the wall, and nineteen feet in
circumference.
"There appear to have been five other pillars on the east, and four on
the northern terrace; and as the vein of the plain which lies to the
south and west is very extensive, I am inclined to believe that the
square has always been open in these directions. Adjoining to this we
entered by the eastern side to another quadrangle, surrounded by perfect
walls of the same height and thickness as the former one, and measuring
one hundred and thirty-four feet by one hundred and thirty-seven. In
this were yet standing fourteen very well constructed pillars, of equal
dimensions with that in the adjoining enclosure, and arranged four in
length and three in breadth of the quadrangle, from which, on every
side, they separated a space of twenty-three feet in width, probably a
pavement of a portico of which they once supported the roof. In their
construction, as well as that of all the walls which we saw, a common
clay having straw mixed with it has been used. Rich grass was growing
in the spacious court where Aztec monarchs may once have feasted; and
our cattle were so delighted with it that we left them to graze while we
walked about three hundred yards to the northward, over a very wide
parapet, and reached a perfect, square, flat-topped pyramid of large
unhewn stones. It was standing unattached to any other buildings, at the
foot of the eastern brow of the mountain which rises abruptly behind it.
On the eastern face is a platform of twenty-eight feet in width, faced
by a parapet wall of fifteen feet, and from the base of this extends a
second platform with a parapet like the former, and one hundred and
eighteen feet wide. These form the outer defensive boundary of the
mountain, which from its figure has materially favored its construction.
There is every reason to believe that this eastern face must have been
of great importance. A slightly raised and paved causeway descends
across the valley, in the direction of the rising sun, and being
continued on the opposite side of a stream which flows through it, can
be traced up the mountains at two miles distant, till it terminates at
the base of an immense stone edifice which probably may also have been a
pyramid. Although a stream (Rio del Partido) runs meandering through the
plain from the northward, about midway between the two elevated
buildings. I can scarcely imagine that the causeway should have been
formed for the purpose of bringing water to the city, which is far more
easy of access than in many other directions much nearer to the river,
but must have been constructed for important purposes between the two
places in question; and it is not improbable once formed the street
between the frail huts of the poorer inhabitants. The base of the large
pyramid measured fifty feet, and I ascertained by ascending with a line
that its height was precisely the same. Its flat top was covered with
earth and a little vegetation: and our guide asserted, although he knew
not where he obtained the information, that it was once surmounted by a
statue. Off the south-east corner of this building, and about fifteen
yards distant, is to be seen the edge of a circle of stones about eight
feet in diameter, enclosing as far as we could judge by scraping away
the soil, a bowl-shaped pit, in which the action of fire was plainly
observable; and the earth from which we picked some pieces of pottery,
was evidently darkened by an admixture of soot and ashes. At the
distance of one hundred yards south-west of the large pyramid is a small
one, twelve feet square, and much injured. This is situated on somewhat
higher ground, in the steep part of the ascent to the mountain's brow.
On its eastern face, which is towards the declivity, the height is
eighteen feet; and apparently there have been steps by which to ascend
to a quadrangular space, having a broad terrace around it, and extending
east one hundred feet by a width of fifty. In the centre of this
enclosure is another bowl-shaped pit, somewhat wider than the first.
Hence we began our ascent to the upper works, over a well buttressed yet
ruined wall built of the rock. Its height on the steepest side is
twenty-one feet, and the width on the summit, which is level, with an
extensive platform, is the same. This is a double wall of ten feet,
having been first constructed and then covered with a very smooth kind
of cement, after which the second has been built against it. The
platform, (which faces to the south, and may, to a certain extent, be
considered as a ledge from the cliff,) is eighty-nine feet by
seventy-two; and on its northern centre stand the ruins of a square
building, having within it an open space of ten feet by eight, and of
the same depth. In the middle of the quadrangle is to be seen a mound of
stones eight feet high. A little farther on we entered by a broad
opening between the perfect and massive walls, to a square of one
hundred and fifty feet. This space was surrounded on the south-east and
west by an elevated terrace of three feet by twelve in breadth, having
in the centre of each side steps by which to descend to the square. Each
terrace was backed by a wall of twenty-eight feet by eight or nine. From
the south are two broad entrances, and on the east is one of thirty
feet, communicating with a perfect enclosed square of one hundred feet,
while on the west is one small opening, leading to an artificial cave or
dungeon, of which I shall presently speak.
"To the north, the square is bounded by the steep mountain; and, in the
centre of that side, stands a pyramid of seven ledges or stages, which
in many places are quite perfect. It is flat topped, has four sides, and
measures at the base thirty-eight by thirty-five feet, while in height
it is nineteen. Immediately behind this, and on all that portion of the
hill that presents itself to the square, are numerous tiers of seats
either broken in the rock or built of rough stones. In the centre of the
square, and due south of the pyramid, is a small quadrangular building,
seven feet by five in height. The summit is imperfect, but has
unquestionably been an altar; and from the whole character of the space
in which it stands, the peculiar form of the pyramid, the surrounding
terrace, and the seats or steps on the mountain, there can be little
doubt that this has been the grand Hall of Sacrifice or Assembly, or
perhaps both.
"Passing to the westward, we next saw some narrow enclosed spaces,
apparently portions of an aqueduct leading from some tanks on the
summit of the mountain, and then we were shown to the mouth of the cave,
or subterraneous passage, of which so many suspicious stories are yet
told and believed. One of the principal objects of our expedition had
been to enter this place, which none of the natives had ever ventured to
do, and we came provided with torches accordingly: unfortunately
however, the mouth had very recently fallen in, and we could merely see
that it was a narrow, well built entrance, bearing in many places the
remains of good smooth plastering. A large beam of cedar once supported
the roof, but its removal by the country people had caused the
dilapidation which we now observed. Mr. Sindal, in knocking out some
pieces of regularly burnt brick, soon brought a ruin upon his head, but
escaped without injury; and this accident caused a thick cloud of yellow
dust to fall, which, on issuing from the cave, assumed a bright
appearance under the full glare of the sun;--an effect not lost on the
natives, who became more than ever persuaded that an immense treasure
lay hidden in that mysterious place. The general opinion of those who
remember the excavation is that it is very deep; and from many
circumstances there is a probability of its having been a place of
confinement for victims. Its vicinity to the great hall, in which there
can be little doubt that the sanguinary rites were held, is one argument
in favor of this supposition; but there is another equally
forcible;--its immediate proximity to a cliff of about one hundred and
fifty feet, down which the bodies of victims may have been precipitated,
as was the custom at the inhuman sacrifices of the Aztecs.[67] A road or
causeway to be noticed in another place, terminates at the foot of the
precipice, exactly beneath the cave and over-hanging rock, and
conjecture can form no other idea of its intended utility, unless as
being in some manner connected with the dungeon.
"Hence we ascend to a variety of buildings, all constructed with the
same regard to strength, and inclosing spaces on far too large a scale
for the abode of common people. On the extreme ridge of the mountain
were several tolerably perfect tanks.
"In a subsequent visit to this extraordinary place, I saw some buildings
which had at first escaped my notice. These were situated on the summit
of a rock terminating the ridge, and about a mile and a half north
north-west of the citadel.
"The first is a building originally eighteen feet square, but having
the addition of sloping walls to give it a pyramidal form. It is flat
topped, and on the centre of its southern face there appears to have
been steps to ascend to its summit. The second is a square altar, its
height and base being each about sixteen feet. These buildings are
surrounded at no great distance by a strong wall, and at a quarter of a
mile to the northward, advantage is taken of a precipice to construct
another wall of twelve feet in width from its brink. On a small flat
space between this and the pyramid are the remains of an open square
edifice, to the southward of which are two long mounds of stone, each
extending about thirty feet; and to the north-east is another ruin,
having large steps up its side. I should conceive the highest wall of
the citadel to be three hundred feet above the plain, and the base rock
surmounts it by about thirty feet more.
"The whole place in fact, from its isolated situation, the disposition
of its defensive walls, and the favorable figure of the rock must have
been impregnable to Indians; and even European troops would have found
great difficulty in ascending those works which we have ventured to name
the Citadel. There is no doubt that the greater mass of the nation who
once dwelt here must have been established on the plain beneath, since
from the summit of the rock we could distinctly trace three straight and
very extensive causeways diverging from that over which we first passed.
The most remarkable of these roads runs south-west for two miles, is
forty-six feet in width, and crossing the grand causeway is continued to
the foot of the cliff immediately beneath the cave which I have
described. Its more distant extreme is terminated by a high and long
artificial mound immediately beyond the river toward the hacienda of La
Quemada. We could trace the second road south and south-west to a small
rancho named Cayotl, about four miles distant, and the third ran
south-west by south still farther, ceasing, as the country people
informed us, at a mountain six miles distant. All these roads have been
slightly raised, were paved with rough stones, still visible in many
places above the grass, and were perfectly straight.
"From the flatness of the fine plain over which they extended, I cannot
conceive them to have been constructed as paths, since the people who
walked barefoot and used no beasts of burden, must naturally have
preferred the smooth earthen foot-ways which presented themselves on
every side, to these roughly paved roads. If this be admitted, it is not
difficult to suppose that they were the centres of streets whose huts
constructed of the same kind of frail materials as those of the present
day, must long since have disappeared. Many places on the plain are
thickly strewn with stones which may once have formed materials for the
town; and around the cattle farms there are extensive modern walls
which, not improbably, were constructed from the nearest street. At all
events, whatever end these causeways answered, the citadel itself still
remains, and by its size and strength confirms the accounts given by
Cortéz, Bernal Diaz, and others of the conquerors of the magnitude and
strength of the Mexican edifices, but which have been doubted by
Robertson, De Pau, and others. We observed also in some sheltered
places, the remains of good plaster, confirming the accounts above
alluded to; and there can be little doubt that the present rough, yet
magnificent buildings were once encased in wood, as ancient Mexico, the
towns of Yucatan, Tabasco, and many other places are described to have
been in the voyage of Juan De Grijalvis in 1518, and also in the
writings of Diaz, Cortéz and Clavigero.
"The Cerro de Edificios and the mountains of the surrounding range, are
all of gray porphyry, easily fractured into slabs, and this, with
comparatively little labor, has furnished materials for the edifices
which crown its summit. We saw no remains of obsidian among the ruins or
on the plain--which is remarkable, as it is the general substance of
which the knives and arrow-heads of the Mexicans were formed; but a few
pieces of very compact porphyry were lying about and some appeared to
have been chipped into a rude resemblance of arrow-heads.
"Not a trace of the ancient name of this interesting place, or that of
the nation which inhabited it, is now to be found among the neighboring
people, who merely distinguished the isolated rock and buildings by one
common name, 'Los Edificios.' I had inquired of the best instructed
people about these ruins; but all my researches were unavailing until I
fortunately met with a note in the Abbé Clavigero's history of Mexico
which appears to throw some light on the subject. 'The situation of
Chico-moztoc, where the Mexicans sojourned nine years is not known, but
it appears to be that place, twenty miles distant from Zacatécas,
towards the south, where there are still some remains of an immense
edifice, which, according to the tradition of the ancient inhabitants of
that district was the work of the Aztecs during their migration; and it
certainly cannot be ascribed to any other people, the Zacatecanos
themselves being so barbarous as neither to live in houses nor to know
how to build them.'"
CHAPTER XI.
STATE OF SAN LUIS
POTOSI--BOUNDARIES--LAKES--RIVERS--CLIMATE--DEPARTMENTS--PRODUCTS--SAN
LUIS--TOWNS--MINING REGION.--NEW LEON--BOUNDARIES--CHARACTER
--RIVERS--CLIMATE--DEPARTMENTS--AGRICULTURE--GRAZING,
ETC.--MONTEREY.--COAHUILA--BOUNDARY--POSITION
--CLIMATE--PRODUCTIONS--TOWNS.--STATE OF
DURANGO--BOUNDARY--CHARACTER--DIVISIONS--STREAMS--PRODUCTIONS
--CITY OF DURANGO--TOWNS--MINES--IRON--SILVER--INDIAN
NECROLOGY--CAVE BURIAL.
STATE OF SAN LUIS POTOSI.
[Illustration: CITY OF SAN LUIS POTOSI.]
The State of San Luis Potosi is bounded on the east by the State of
Tamaulipas; on the north by Nuevo Leon; on the west by Zacatécas; on the
south by Guanajuato and Querétaro, and on the south-east by Vera Crux.
The western portion of the State is quite mountainous; but towards
Tamaulipas, the Cordillera is somewhat broken, and a lower hilly
country stretches out towards the south-east. The Panuco and the
Santander are the only two rivers, and the lagunes of Chariel and Chila
the only two lakes of importance in the State.
The climate of the mountain region and table lands is cold, while that
of the lower elevations and flats towards the eastern boundary is much
warmer, and, at certain seasons, very unhealthy.
The State of San Luis Potosi is divided into four departments, ten
cantons, and fifty-two municipalities, with a population of over
300,000.
1st. Department of SAN LUIS with the cantons San Luis, Santa Maria del
Rio and Guadalcazar.
2d. Department of RIO VERDE, with the cantons of Rio Verde and del Maiz.
3d. Department of TANCANHUITZ, with the cantons of Tancanhuitz and De
Valles.
4th. Department of VENADO, with the cantons of Venado, Catorcé and
Ojocaliente.
The agriculturists of San Luis are engaged chiefly in the production of
corn, wheat, barley and fodder; all of which are yielded plentifully by
the genial soil of the State. But the toils of the farmer and the
generosity of the ground are not always repaid by suitable prices or a
good market. Corn ranges from fifty cents to seventy-five the fanega;
and even at this rate often lacks purchasers. Cattle are raised in large
quantities, as in Zacatécas, Durango and Chihuahua. Manufactures are
progressive. Woollen and cotton fabrics are produced of excellent
quality and favor among the masses. Glass, leather, pottery and metallic
wares are also made in large quantities, and a busy traffic in foreign
goods is carried on with the port of Tampico, and the States of
Zacatécas, Durango, Sonora, New Leon, Guanajuato, Mechoacan and Jalisco.
The position of this State, and especially of its principal town,
naturally makes it an _entrepôt_ between the coast and the interior, for
imports from America and Europe. Nevertheless, a small trade, only,
exists in home products, and these are chiefly sent to New Leon and
Coahuila.
The chief towns are SAN LUIS POTOSI, the capital of the State and seat
of government, lying on a level plain, among the steep declivities of
the Cordillera in the neighborhood of the sources of the Panuco, in 22°
4´ 58´´ north latitude, 103° 7´ west longitude from Paris, 5,959 feet
above the sea. It is a regular, well built city, with broad, paved
streets, a fine _plaza_ or public square, and six handsome churches,
three convents, and one hospital. Its population may be estimated at
35,000.
GUADALCAZAR, is the capital of the _partido_ or district of that name,
18 leagues north-west of San Luis Potosi, in 22° 31´ 25´´ north latitude
and 102° 59´ 30´´ west longitude from Paris, 5,132 feet above the sea,
in a valley south of a mountain group which was once extremely
productive in mineral riches.
RIO VERDE is the capital of the Department of Rio Verde, 34 leagues east
of San Luis. The town of VALLES, with 3,500 inhabitants, lies on the
left bank of the Rio Montezuma, in the _tierra caliente_, on the
boundary of the State of Vera Cruz. Its neighborhood is rich in sugar
plantations and in tropical productions generally.
VENADO, 29 leagues north of San Luis, is the chief town of its
Department; it lies on the road from the capital of the State to
Catorcé, and contains about 8,000 inhabitants.
In the _partido_ OJOCALIENTE lies the town of that name, 28 leagues
north-west of the city of San Luis, and 10 leagues south-east of the
capital of Zacatécas, 6,714 feet above the sea.
CATORCÉ is a mining town, likewise in the department of Venado, and is
sometimes known by the sounding title of "REAL DE LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION
DE ALAMOS DE LOS CATORCÉ." The name is supposed to be derived from the
slaughter of fourteen Spanish soldiers who are said to have been killed
in its vicinity by a tribe of savages inhabiting these wild mountain
regions before the discovery of the adjacent mines.
Nothing can be more dreary, bleak and desolate than the aspect of the
Cordillera of Catorcé. A few narrow mule paths, or the worn bed of a
mountain torrent alone break the monotonous coloring of the mass; and
the town placed at the great height of 8,788 feet above the sea, is
completely hidden from below by the bold brow of the mountain.[68] There
is neither a tree nor a blade of grass on the steep and sterile flanks
of these rocky elevations, though seventy years ago the whole district
was covered with wood which might have endured for centuries had not the
improvident and wasteful spirit of the first adventurers wantonly
destroyed these valuable resources. Forests were burnt to clear the
ground, and the larger timber which was required for the mines when they
were wrought again after the revolution, was brought from a distance of
twenty-two leagues.
On reaching a high ridge above the adjacent valley, the town of Catorcé
is immediately perceived at the feet of the traveller, lying in a hollow
beyond which the mountain steeps again rise precipitously above a
thousand feet,--the course of the _Veta Madre_, or great "mother vein,"
being distinctly traced upon it by the buildings belonging to the mines
and miners. The site of the town is extremely singular, as it is
intersected by deep ravines, or _barrancas_, upon the ledges of which
many of the dwellings are erected. Some of these strange edifices, like
those of Edinburg, have one story on one side, and two or three on the
other; and most of them are surrounded by massive fragments of rock,
amongst which the laborers shelter themselves from inclement weather.
In this region the most valuable mines of the State of San Luis Potosi
have been found and wrought.
Within a few years past a profitable quicksilver mine was discovered,
south of the capital, in the jurisdiction of the Hacienda de Villela.
This mine, in the months of August and September, 1843, produced 1,068
pounds of the metal _en caldo_.
THE STATE OF NEW LEON.
This fine portion of the present Mexican Confederacy was colonized at
the end of the sixteenth century by the Viceroy Monterey, and was then
known by the proud title of EL NUEVO REYNO DE LEON, or, the New Kingdom
of Leon. The modern State is bounded on the east by Tamaulipas; on the
north by Coahuila; on the west by that State and Durango; on the
south-west and south by Zacatécas and San Luis Potosi.
The geological formation of this State is generally mountainous. It lies
among the first spurs and ridges of the Sierra Madre, south of the Rio
Bravo, or Grande del Norte, and is interspersed with wide plains and
fruitful valleys which produce good crops under careful cultivation. The
rivers, all of which flow eastwardly towards the Gulf of Mexico, are the
Rio Tigre, the San Juan, the Rio Blanco or Borbón, and the Sabinas,
which passes into this State from Coahuila, and falls into the Rio Bravo
near Revilla. There are numerous other small streams and brooks, of no
geographical but of considerable agricultural importance. The climate is
generally warm, except among the higher ranges of mountains; and, in
summer, it is usually extremely hot, though healthy. The population is
estimated at about 130,000.
New Leon is divided into five Partidos or Departments, with 25
districts.
1st. Department of Monterey, with seven districts: Monterey, Salinas
Victorias, Absalo, San Nicolas Hidalgo, Pesqueria Grande, Santa
Catarina, and Guajuco.
2d. Department of Cadereyta Ximenes, with five districts: Cadereyta,
Santa Maria, Cerralvo, Agualequas, and Santa Maria de las Aldamas.
3d. Department of Monte Morélos, with three districts: Monte Morélos,
Mota and China.
4th. Department of Linares, with five districts: Linares, Galéana,
Hualahuises, Rio Blanco and Concepcion.
5th. Department of Aldáma, with five districts: Villa Aldáma,
Vallecillo, Sabinas, Lampazos and Tlascala.
The agriculture of New Leon has not been as carefully and successfully
pursued as it might have been, in the hands of a different population.
The annual product of the soil has been stated by the Mexican
authorities, to average 120,600 fanegas of corn; 5,700 fanegas of
frijoles or beans, and 46,500 hundred-weight of sugar;--the home market
affording one dollar per fanega for corn, three dollars per fanega for
frijoles, and three dollars per hundred weight for raw sugar.
The chief occupation of the landholders is the grazing of cattle, and
the yearly return of animals, shows that the State is quite productive
in this branch of rural labor. It is calculated by official reporters
that New Leon annually feeds and sends to market:--50,000 horses, 12,000
mules, 75,000 large horned cattle, and 850,000 sheep, goats, and hogs.
The local value of which is six dollars a head for horses, twelve for a
mule, four for neat cattle, and from fifty cents to a dollar, a piece,
for sheep, goats, and swine. The State is regarded as rich in minerals
of silver and lead, but the mining operations are almost abandoned,
except at Cerralvo and Vallecillo. Salt is made at the salt mines on the
banks of the Rio Tigre. The domestic trade is carried on in State
productions with Mexico and Querétaro, and North American or European
fabrics are imported through the port of Tampico de Tamaulipas.
The capital of the State is MONTEREY, in 25° 59´ north latitude and 102°
33´ west longitude from Paris, about 220 leagues north of the city of
Mexico, situated on the plain at the foot of the Sierra Madre on the
margin of one of the affluents of the Rio Tigre. Its population is
estimated at about 13,000, and its climate is considered agreeable and
healthy. Monterey is connected with the history of North American
victories, by the capitulation it made to General Taylor, September,
1846.
The other principal towns, villages and settlements in New Leon, are SAN
FELIPÉ DE LINARES, containing 6,000 inhabitants, 40 leagues south-east
of Monterey; Buena Vista, a village 7 leagues north-west of Linares;
Cadereyta Ximenes, a small town of 2,000 people, 10 leagues south-east
of Monterey; Salinas Victorias, 10 leagues north of Monterey; Pesqueria
Grande, a village north-west from Monterey, and formerly the site of
silver mines and salt works; Villa Aldama; San Carlos de Vallecillo;
Lampazos; Agualequas; China, and Galeana.
THE STATE OF COAHUILA.
Coahuila was formerly united with the ancient Mexican province of Texas,
until the revolution, which resulted in the independence of the latter,
sundered the bond and added it to the United States of North America.
The present State of Coahuila is bounded on the east by New Leon and
Tamaulipas; on the south by Zacatécas; on the west by the Indian
territory known as the Bolson de Mapimi, Durango and Chihuahua; and on
the north by Texas.
The whole State lies on the first steps of the Sierra Madre; its
southern portion, beyond the Rio Sabinas, is extremely mountainous; but
from the northern bank of this stream, the land sinks gradually into
levels until it is lost in the well-watered and fruitful plains of
Texas. The principal rivers in this State are the Rio Grande del Norte
or Rio Bravo, the Sabinas and the Rio Tigre; and the chief lakes or
lagunes are those of Parras and Agua Verde.
The climate of Coahuila is equable and healthy. From the middle of May
to the middle of August the greatest heat is generally experienced, and,
during this season, the country is torn by high winds which nearly every
day begin to blow at sunset. The population of the State is estimated at
about 97,000. Large bodies of Indians inhabit the lonelier regions of
Coahuila; and, in the north, beyond the Rio Grande, the country swarms
with ferocious tribes of Lipans and Cumanches. Agriculture is not
flourishing though the soil of large portions of the State is good and
capable of production. The remote position of Coahuila, and the thinness
of its population, have probably obliged the inhabitants to congregate
in towns and villages where they might afford each other mutual
protection against the frontier savages; and thus they have been
induced to abandon agriculture for the wilder life of vaqueros or
herdsmen. Wheat, corn, beans and vegetables are easily raised in the
best parts of the State, and in the vicinity of Parras extensive
vineyards have been planted which produce an excellent wine. Horses,
mules, wine and corn form the home commerce of the State; while in the
neighborhood of Santa Rosa, and of two or three other villages, a small
number of persons are engaged in the exploration of mines.
The principal town of Coahuila is SALTILLO, or, as it is sometimes
called, _Léona-Vicario_, situated in the south near the boundary of
Nuevo Leon, twenty-five leagues westward of Monterey, at the foot of a
hill in the midst of a fruitful region. Its geographical position,
according to Wislizenius, is about 25° 25´ of north latitude, and 101°
west longitude from Greenwich. It is a well built town, whose straight
streets radiate at right angles from the public square, in the middle of
which a tasteful fountain constantly supplies the population with
excellent water. The population exceeds 20,000; and the town is
celebrated for the production of woollen blankets and _serapes_ or
_ponchos_, which are in demand all over the Republic.
SAN FERNANDO, or, _La Villa de Rosas_, is a town and military post in
the north of the State, south of the Rio Grande, containing about 3,000
inhabitants.
MONCLOVA, is a town of 3,700 inhabitants on the Coahuila, an affluent of
the Rio Tigre.
PARRAS lies west of Saltillo, on the east bank of the lake of the same
name, and some years ago was estimated to contain nearly 17,000
inhabitants, including the adjacent farmers, planters and their
laborers. It is celebrated for its grapes and wine, as we have already
remarked.
The other villages and settlements worthy of note are Villa Longia,
Viesca y Bustamante, Santa Rosa, Guerrero, Cienegas, Abasoto, Nadadores,
S. Buenaventura, San Francisco y San Miguel Aguayo, Capillania and
Candela.
THE STATE OF DURANGO.
Durango is bounded on the north by Chihuahua; on the west by Sinaloa; on
the east by Coahuila, and on the south by Zacatécas and Jalisco.
This State is penetrated, from near its centre, in a north-westwardly
direction by the main artery of the great Cordillera; and whilst the
north-eastern section of Durango slopes gradually downward towards the
waters of the Rio Grande, its south-western part lies high up among the
table lands and mountain spurs that lean towards Sinaloa and the Pacific
coast. The climate of this mountainous State is healthy and cool, and
its agricultural productions are similar to those of other Mexican
States whose geological formation resembles it.
Durango is divided into twelve _partidos_ or departments:--Durango, San
Juan del Rio, Nombre de Dios, San Dimas, Mesquital Papasquiaro, Oro,
Indee, Tamasula, Cuencamé, Mapimi, and Nasas;--comprising 38
municipalities, 4 cities, 5 towns, 54 villages, 52 mineral works, 48
parishes, 111 haciendas, 48 estancias, and 521 ranchos. The population
is estimated at about 300,000.
The chief streams and bodies of waters in the State are the Rio Nasas,
Rio Guanábas, Rio Florida, and the lagunes of Cayman and Parras, the
latter of which, though lying in Coahuila, bounds upon the edge of
Durango.
The wealth of Durango exists in its minerals and in its cattle estates.
Its _haciendas de cria_ produce immense quantities of horses, mules,
sheep and horned beasts which are readily sold in the various markets
and fairs of the republic. At the hacienda of La Sarca, a stock of
200,000 sheep and 40,000 mules and horses, is constantly kept on hand,
and at Ramos, which contains four hundred square leagues of land, 80,000
sheep are annually fed for their fleece, skins and carcasses. About
150,000 sheep are every year sent from Durango to the market of Mexico
alone.
In the valley of Poanas, fifteen leagues east from the capital, there
are fine corn lands; and in the deep valleys of the Sierra Madre even
sugar is raised wherever the exposure and the moisture of the situation
permits the successful cultivation of cane. Indigo and coffee grow wild
in the warm barrancas on the genial slopes of the Cordillera; but
neither of these articles is as yet cultivated by the planters. Cotton
is grown in the vicinity of the Rio Nasas, and the town of Cinco Señores
is the centre of a district covered with plantations which supply most
of the factories of San Luis Potosi, Zacatécas and Saltillo. Mescal, a
species of brandy is distilled in large quantities from the maguey which
grows abundantly in Durango.
The capital of the State, seat of government, and residence of the
bishop, is the city of DURANGO, sometimes known as _La Ciudad de
Victoria_, or, _Guadiana_. It lies under 24° 25´ north latitude and 105°
55´ west longitude, at an elevation of 6,847 feet above the level of the
sea, and sixty-five leagues north-westwardly from Zacatécas. It is in
the southern section of the State, and was originally founded, in 1559,
by the Viceroy Velasco, as a military post designed for the control of
the Chichimecas. Its population at present may be estimated at between
thirty and forty thousand.
This capital, and most of the other noted towns in Durango, owe their
existence to the mineral wealth of the neighborhood. Before the mines of
Guarisamey were discovered the city of Durango was a mere village, or
_pueblo ranchero_, containing, as late as 1783, no more than eight
thousand inhabitants. But the exploration of the mines infused life,
activity, and wealth into the population, and the State progressed
rapidly as its resources were developed. The fine streets of the
capital, its great _plaza_ or square, its theatre, and all its public
edifices were erected by Zambrano, who is said to have extracted upwards
of thirty millions of dollars from his mines at Guarisamey and San
Dimas. A mint has been established in the city, and, besides this, it
possesses factories of cotton, glass and tobacco.
The towns of VILLA DEL NOMBRE DE DIOS, with 7,000 inhabitants, SAN JUAN
DEL RIO with 12,000 and CINCO SEÑORES DE NASAS, are almost the only ones
in the State unconnected with mines. The two first are supported chiefly
by the sale of Mescal distilled from the maguey or aloe; and the last,
by the extensive cotton plantations which have been already mentioned.
Besides these towns there are the Villa FELIZ DE TAMASULA, north-west of
Durango on the boundary of Sinaloa; PAPASQUIARO with 6,000 inhabitants;
Guarisamey, a mining town, in a deep and warm valley, surrounded with
steep mountains near 9,000 feet high, and containing about 4,000 people;
La Villa de Mapimi, north of the Rio Nasas, on the borders of the Bolson
de Mapimi, and east of the Cerro de la Cadena, with about 3,000
inhabitants; Cuencame; El Oro; and many other villages and towns, too
numerous and too unimportant for separate notice, but which deserve
recollection as indicating the tendency of this region to aggregate
population. The State contained in 1833, 250,000 inhabitants, according
to good authority, and it is probable that at present it does not number
less than 300,000.
Durango is rich in mineral deposits. Iron abounds within a quarter of a
league of the gates of the capital. The Cerro del Mercado is entirely
composed of iron ores of two distinct qualities,--crystallized and
magnetic,--but almost equally rich, as they contain from sixty to
seventy-five per cent. of pure metal. Silver is also abundant in the
mountains; but the mines have been carelessly worked, and, in some
places, are abandoned for want of suitable machinery or enterprize. The
principal districts and places in which this precious deposit has been
found and profitably wrought, are at Gavalines, Guarisamey and San
Dimas, in the two last of which the fortunate adventurer Zambrano,
acquired, during twenty-five years, the extraordinary wealth he
possessed. These mines are divided into Tamasula, Canélas and Sianori,
lying on the western slope of the Cordillera; and Guanasevi, Indée, El
Oro, Cuencame and Mapimi, on the eastern declivities. They lie about
five days' journey west of the capital.
The following interesting sketch of Indian necrology is given in the
valuable and recent work of Mühlenpfordt upon the Mexican Republic.
In the State of Durango,--says this interesting German
author,--especially in the unexplored portion of the Bolson de Mapimi,
many relics of antiquity, important for the history of this country, are
probably hidden. In the summer of 1838, a remarkable old Indian cave of
sepulture was discovered in this singular region. Among the few
establishments which enterprizing settlers have founded in that lonely
territory which is overrun by wild Indians, one of the most important is
the estate of San Juan de Casta, on its western border, 86 leagues north
of the town of Durango. Don Juan Flores, its proprietor, rambling one
day with several companions in the eastern part of the Bolson, remarked
the entrance of a cavern on the side of a mountain. He went in, and
beheld, as he imagined, a great number of Indians sitting silently
around the walls of the cave. Flores immediately rushed forth in
affright, to communicate his remarkable discovery to his friends, who at
once supposed that the story of the adventurer was nothing but an affair
of fancy, as they no where found any trace or foot path to show that the
secluded spot had been hitherto visited. But, in order to satisfy
themselves, they entered the cavern with pine torches,--and their sight
was greeted by more than a thousand corpses in a state of perfect
preservation, their hands clasped beneath their knees, and sitting on
the ground. They were clad in mantles excellently woven and wrought of
the fibres of a bastard aloe, indigenous in these regions, which is
called _lechuguilla_, with bands and scarfs of variegated stuffs. Their
ornaments were strings of fruit-kernels, with beads formed of bone,
ear-rings, and thin cylindrical bones polished and gilt, and their
sandals were made of a species of _liana_.
CHAPTER XII.
STATE OF
CHIHUAHUA--POSITION--BOUNDARIES--EXTENT--CHARACTERISTICS--RIVERS
--LAKES--INDIANS--DIVISIONS--CLIMATE--PRODUCTIONS--CATTLE
ESTATES--MINT--MINES--PRINCIPAL TOWNS--CHIHUAHUA--EL PASO DEL
NORTE--MILITARY IMPORTANCE--EL PASO WINE, ETC.--ANTIQUITIES--INDIAN
RAVAGES--THE BOLSON DE MAPIMI--MEXICAN MODES OF TRAVELLING AND
TRANSPORTATION--LITERA--MULES--ARRIEROS--CONDUCTA--COACHES--FREIGHT
WAGONS--MEXICAN HABIT OF HOME-STAYING--WANT OF EXPLORATION--MODERN
ADVANCEMENT.
THE STATE OF CHIHUAHUA.
The State of Chihuahua, containing an area of 17,151-1/2 square leagues,
or 119,169 English square miles, and reaching from 26° 53´ 36´´ to 32°
57´ 43´´ north latitude, is bounded on the north by New Mexico, east by
Coahuila and Texas, south by Durango, south-west by Sinaloa, and
north-west by Sonora. The great mountain chain of Mexico, which is the
connecting link between the Rocky Mountains of the north and the Andes
of the south, is here known as the Sierra Madre, and occupies chiefly
the western part of the State, where its elevations attain a vast
height, and at length, descend abruptly, cut by deep _barrancas_ or
ravines, until they are lost in the plains of Sonora and Sinaloa.
Mexican authorities state the highest point of the Sierra Madre, at the
Peaks of Jesus Maria, to be 8,441 feet above the level of the sea. The
greater portion of Chihuahua consequently lies, like Durango, upon the
_plateau_ of Mexico, and only a small part upon the western slope of the
Sierra Madre. The loftier elevations of the Cordillera, as it passes
upward from Durango, lean towards the west until they pass the centre of
Chihuahua, and then bending once more, nearly north, pursue their way
through New Mexico into the remote wilderness of our Union. Towards the
east these steeps become gradually depressed until they are lost in the
vast and uncultivated regions of the Bolson de Mapimi, whose elevation
above the sea is still 3,800 feet, according to the measurement of Dr.
Wislizenius.
Seventeen rivers and streams flow through the territory of this State.
The Rio Bravo, or Rio Grande del Norte; the Rio Conchas; Florida;
Chihuahua; Tonachi; Llanos; Casas Grandes; San Buenaventura; Carmen;
Santa Isabel; Pasesiochi; Mulatos; Chiñapas; Parral; San Pedro;
Batopilas; and Rio Grande de Bavispe. The lakes or lagunes are those of
San Martin; Guzman; Patos, or Candelaria; Encinillas; and Castilla. The
river Nasas, which rises in Durango debouches in the Lake of Cayman, in
the Bolson de Mapimi. The climate resembles that of the adjoining State
of Durango. In the year 1834, the population, according to official
statistics was 145,182; at present, it is estimated at from 150,000 to
160,000, which number would give about 1.3 for each English square mile.
This is probably the actual number of inhabitants within the State,
exclusive of Indians and some wild dwellers among the mountains who were
not comprised in the census of 1833. Large numbers of aborigines occupy
the lonelier portions of Chihuahua. Tribes of Tepehuanés, Llanos,
Acotlames, Cocoyames and a few remnants of the Aztecs are found within
its borders. In the Bolson de Mapimi, and on the borders of the mountain
ranges of the Chanáte, El Diabolo Puerco, and Pilares, swarm numbers of
the Apaches Mescaléros and Farones, who are often engaged in war with
the savage and robber tribes of Cumanches, whose constant inroads into
the Mexican territory are a source of incessant annoyance and insecurity
to the people of the frontier. In the ravines and valleys of the Sierra
de los Mimbres, in the north-west of the State, the Apache Mímbreños are
found, while further south, in the wild and deep dells of Tararécua and
Santa Sinforosa various bands of the Tarahuamares still pursue their
hunter-life in perfect freedom.
There is some doubt, in consequence of the conflict of authorities, as
to the divisions of the State of Chihuahua. According to the _Noticias
Estadisticas_ of Señor Escudero, published in 1834, it was composed of
four districts: Chihuahua, Hidalgo, Paso del Norte, and Guadalupe y
Calvo,--in the first of which are the _partidos_ of Aldama,
Cosihuiriachi, Papigochi, and Jesus Maria de Rosales;--in the second,
the _partidos_ of Allende and Jimenez;--in the third, the _partidos_ of
Galeanas and Janos;--and in the fourth, those of Batopilas and Balleza
or Tepehuanes. According to an article published by the same writer in
the fourth volume of the Museo Mexicano, in 1844, he apparently
entertains the opinion that the same divisions still continue; but, if
the authority of another and very positive correspondent of the same
work is to be relied on in reference to the last mentioned period,
Chihuahua was divided into the _partidos_ of Aldama, Allende, Balleza,
Batopilas, Concepcion, Cosihuiriachi, Galeana, Hidalgo, Jimenez, Paso,
and Rosales, formerly Tapacolmes.
Nature has endowed Chihuahua with a pleasant and temperate climate and a
fertile soil, which is said by those who are best acquainted with the
State to be capable of producing abundantly, if the county is ever freed
from savage inroads and filled with an industrious population of
agriculturists. The forests, the streams, the valleys and the plains,
all yield their tributes of valuable articles of trade. Vast herds of
cattle are fed upon the large _haciendas de ganado_; and the mountains
are veined with the precious deposits which form the wealth of so many
other Mexican States. The prompt settlement of the frontier, and the
security of its inhabitants against the Indians, under the protection of
armed forces by the conterminous Republics, seem to be all that is
requisite for the development of the fine natural resources of this
hitherto neglected State.
Field and garden cultivation is not much attended to by the present
inhabitants; but wherever farming operations are carried on in suitable
spots, corn, wheat, barley, frijoles, and all the finest fruits, plants
and vegetables, are found to repay bountifully the husbandman's labor.
Even indigo and cotton are found growing wild in some of the districts,
notwithstanding the proximity of the mountain region, and the bleaker
exposure of the soil.
At El Paso del Norte, the right bank of the Rio Grande, is covered for a
distance of seven leagues with excellent vineyards, whose capital fruit
produces an abundance of wine, which is greedily purchased in the
markets of the adjacent States. In the neighborhood of Aldama, Allende,
and of many other towns, the grape is also successfully cultivated, and
the liquor produced is highly esteemed by competent judges. But the
chief sources of the present prosperity of Chihuahua are its mines and
cattle. The best data in our possession assign to this State 56 large
estates, upon all of which about 70,000 horses, 190,000 horned cattle,
and 550,000 head of sheep, swine and goats are constantly fed. The
silver, gold and copper mines have been in former years exceedingly
productive, and even in 1844, the mint of Chihuahua, struck $61,632 in
gold, and 290,000 in silver. In 1814, the coinage of the same
institution reached the sum of $1,818,604 in silver, after which period
it ceased operating until 1832; but since then its annual emission has
never exceeded $544,244 in coins of both the precious metals. Gold was
first struck at this mint in 1841, and in 1842 it sent into circulation
$164,744, since which its issue has sensibly decreased. The best copper
mines at present known, are those of Santa Rita, near the union of the
Rio Florida with the Rio Conchas. Veins of iron, cinnabar, lead,
sulphur, coal, and nitre have been found and explored; but owing to the
disturbed and insecure condition of the State, are altogether abandoned.
The chief mining districts and mineral deposits are at Allende or San
Bartolomé; Santa Barbara; Chihuahua; Cosihuiriachi; Santa Eulalia; Jesus
Maria; Loreto; Moris; Mulatos; Minas Nuevas; Parral; San Pedro; El
Refugio; Santa Rita; Sierra Rica; Batopilas; Urique y Ximenes, or as it
is at present called, Guajuquilla. A considerable portion of the product
of these mines may have been extracted from the Mexican Republic, before
they were coined, by the inland trade with the United States, which has
been carried on extensively for many years. The gold dust, especially,
both of Chihuahua and New Mexico, has formed the principal return for
American merchandize; and thus the diminution of the Chihuahuan coinage
may be partially accounted for. Nevertheless we are informed by the best
authorities, as well as by the statistics of the mint, that the mines of
this State have been negligently wrought for some years past by the
unsettled inhabitants of the frontier.
The chief towns in the State are the capital, Chihuahua, situated 4,640
feet above the level of the sea, in 28° 38´ north latitude and 106° 30´
west longitude from Greenwich, containing a population of from 12,000 to
15,000. It lies in a beautiful valley opening towards the north, and
hemmed in, on the other sides, by the arms of the Sierra Madre. The city
is regularly built, on wide, clean streets, with many handsome and
convenient houses, plentifully supplied with water, which is brought to
the town by an aqueduct extending 6,533 _varas_. The plaza, or public
square, is quite imposing. Its spacious area is adorned with a fountain
and walks, with benches and pillars of white porphyry. Three sides of
this square are occupied with public edifices and stores, while on the
fourth is the cathedral.
The other towns are San Pedro de Batopilas, a mining post on the western
slope of the Cordillera, in a deep dell;--San José del Parral, at the
eastern foot of the Sierra Madre on the southern limit of Chihuahua,
about eighty leagues east of Batopilas, containing about 5,000
inhabitants; Valle de San Bartolomé, on the road from Chihuahua to
Durango; Allende, with 11,000 inhabitants; Santa Rosa de Cosihuiriachi,
with 3,000; and various other villages and Presidios of lesser note.
One of the most important towns in the State of Chihuahua, since the
annexation of a part of Mexico to the United Slates by the treaty of
1848, is El Paso del Norte. According to the observations of Dr.
Wislizenius, it lies in 31° 45´ 50´´ north latitude, 3,814 feet above
the level of the sea, on the Rio Grande, distant about 340 miles from
Santa Fé, and about 240 from the town of Chihuahua. The Rio Grande or
Rio del Norte, having escaped the mountain pass, runs here in an open
fertile field, at the beginning of which El Paso is situated. The town
is principally built on the right bank of the river while a few houses
are on the left. Stretched out along the stream for many miles, all its
dwellings are surrounded and embosomed in groves, gardens, orchards,
vineyards and cultivated fields as far as the eye can reach. The
position of this town is an important one, inasmuch as the road by it is
the only practicable one for wagons leading from Santa Fé to Chihuahua.
A circuitous road might, in case of necessity, be made from the right
bank of the river, on the northern end of the Jornado del Muerto, to the
copper mines near the sources of the Gila, and thence by Carmen to
Chihuahua; but it is by far more mountainous, winding and difficult than
the direct road through El Paso which has long been the only highway
between New Mexico and Chihuahua. Besides these advantages of commercial
intercourse, the point is deemed of the greatest value as a military
post, in which a well provided garrison could hold out against a
ten-fold stronger force.[69] The population of the town proper, and of
the line of settlements extending about twenty miles down the river is
estimated at from ten to twelve thousand.
Besides these important considerations, the valley of El Paso is
probably the most fertile country along the river. In addition to maize
and wheat the inhabitants raise a large quantity of fruits, such as
apples, pears, figs, quinces, peaches, &c., but especially an excellent
grape from which the celebrated El Paso wine is prepared, and a liquor
is made called by the Americans "Pass Whiskey." The grape which is so
extensively cultivated is of Spanish origin; it is blue, very rich and
juicy, and produces a strong, sweet, southern, straw-colored wine. For
want of barrels, the natives preserve the liquor in earthern jars or in
ox skins. The wine has a strong body, and when mellowed by age, has the
flavor of Malaga. Besides the blue grape, a white species is also
raised, having the flavor of the Muscadine, but it is believed that it
is not used for wine.
The mode of cultivating the vineyards in this region is simple. The
vines are covered in winter with earth, are kept clear from weeds, hoed
and pruned at the proper season, but they are not attached to stakes or
espaliers. The soil and climate are so genial that less labor is
required than in other countries; but a great deal of the fertility of
the beautiful valley must be ascribed to the ingenious system of
irrigation, which is produced by a dam constructed in the river above El
Paso, which turns a large body of water into a canal. This canal,
spreading into numerous branches and re-uniting again, provides all the
cultivated land with a sufficiency of moisture.
Some remains of antiquity are found in the north-western part of the
State, lying near the village and creek of the Casas Grandes, between
Janos and Galeana. Ruins of large houses, known as "Casas Grandes" in
the language of the country, exist in this neighborhood, built of
sun-dried bricks, or _adobes_, and squared timber. They are three
stories high with a gallery of wood and stairway from the exterior, with
very small rooms and narrow doors in the upper stories but without means
of entrance in the lower. Water was brought to the spot from a
neighboring spring by a canal; and a watch-tower, commanding an
extensive prospect, stands on an elevation two leagues south-west of it.
A series of mounds, containing earthen vessels, weapons, instruments of
stone, and fragments of white, blue and violet colored pottery, extends
along the banks of the Casas Grandes and Janos creeks.
* * * * *
The State of Chihuahua has suffered and still suffers greatly and
constantly from the incursions of the barbarians who ravage her
frontiers and descend boldly into the very heart of the settlements. The
uncertainty of life and insecurity of property have, of course,
prevented the development of a region so valuable for its mineral and
agricultural resources; nor is it likely that any sensible progress will
be made until the four warring tribes of Gileños, Mesclaros, Mimbreños
and Lipanes, are destroyed by the advance of the civilized nations from
the north as well as from the south.
A recent Mexican author, in describing the condition of Chihuahua,
declares that at "present every hacienda must be converted into a castle
of the middle ages, every shepherd into a soldier:--proprietors of
estates enjoy no security of their possessions, and the common people
gather themselves into villages to escape from the exposed country in
which they must become the victims of the bloodthirsty savages and
robbers from the wilderness."
There is a singular geological formation in the northern part of Mexico,
lying on the road between the cities of Chihuahua and Monterey, and
extending northwardly from the towns and haciendas of Mapimi, San Juan,
San Lorenzo and San Sebastian towards the Rio Grande, called the Bolson
de Mapimi, or Pouch of Mapimi. Leaving Mapimi, the road continues about
three miles to the eastern mountain chain, and then winding nearly two
miles through a cañon, or gorge, it leads to a very open level valley,
which is the commencement of the Bolson. Towards the right of the road,
eastwardly, at the distance of from three to five miles, a steep, high
mountain chain of limestone, rises precipitously, while another chain
towers up to the left, at the distance of about twelve miles. Both
chains gradually diverge, but especially the eastern arm, which
stretches north-eastwardly and then bends to the south-west, at an
angle, leaving a deep _cul de sac_ or depression in the middle from
which the country has probably derived its name. All around is an
immense chapparal plain, while in the distance the Rio Nasas runs
towards the north into the immense basin, and forms the large Laguna de
Tlagualila, usually set down on maps and mentioned in geographical works
as Lake Cayman. The Nasas is said by Dr. Wislizenius to be the Nile of
the Bolson. Coming about 150 leagues from the western part of Durango,
from the Sianori mountains, it runs north-westwardly and northerly
towards this Pouch, and the wide and level country along the river is
yearly inundated by the floods, and owes its fertility to this
circumstance. The limits of the Bolson de Mapimi have never been clearly
defined either geographically or politically for its immense wilderness
has been neither fully explored or occupied in consequence of the danger
of encountering the robber hordes by whom its recesses are infested. The
northern portion is supposed to belong to the State of Chihuahua, and
the southern to Durango. Nor are its general physical properties clearly
known, though the common and perhaps erroneous impression in the country
is that it is a low, flat, swampy country and a mere desert. The two
terminating points of Dr. Wislizenius's transit through the Bolson are
Mapimi, where he entered it, and El Paso, or a point between Paso and
Parras, where he left it. At Mapimi, the elevation above the sea was
4,487 feet; in the valley of the Nasas, at San Sebastian, 3,785; at San
Lorenzo, 3,815; at San Juan, 3,775; and towards the eastern edge of the
Bolson, at El Paso, 3,990, and at Parras, 4,987. We perceive, therefore,
that the valley of the Nasas, which may be called the vein and centre of
the Bolson has a mean elevation of 3,800 feet; and though from 500 to
1,000 feet lower than the surrounding county, it nevertheless occupies a
considerable elevation above the sea.
The soil in the Bolson is less sandy and of a better quality than in the
higher country. Besides wheat and corn, a quantity of cotton is raised
in the valley of the river, and wine has been successfully tried. The
climate is represented to be so mild, that the root of the cotton plant
is seldom destroyed in winter, and thrives for many years.
We have dwelt upon the character and qualities of this extraordinary
depression among the mountain ridges of northern Mexico, because we
believe that when it is finally explored, the savages exterminated, and
the country opened to the advance of civilization, El Bolson de Mapimi
may become one of the most important and perhaps fruitful basins among
the temperate lands of Mexico.
CONCLUSION.
We have completed the proposed task of sketching the history and
geography of Mexico, accompanied by notices of its social and political
condition, and of the remains of antiquity sprinkled over its territory.
We acknowledge the imperfection of the work, and its unsatisfactoriness
even to ourselves. But we have diligently searched the best authorities
that could be obtained at home and abroad, and, while we have omitted
nothing that might be relied on for the purpose of displaying the
physical and intellectual character of the country and people, we have
endeavored to indicate clearly those historical antecedents and
geographical peculiarities upon which the future progress or decline of
the nation is to be founded.
Perhaps no countries are more difficult for full and minute description,
in their present social state, than Mexico and the South American
nations. Mexico, as we have seen, is a mountain country, with very few
navigable streams opening the interior to travellers, and with badly
constructed roads, which were scarcely adequate for the most needful
transportation required for the subsistence of the people. As soon as
the way-farer left the coasts of the Gulf or of the Pacific he
penetrated the glens of lofty mountains, or slowly toiled along the
inclined plains of their precipitous sides. Wide levels opened in the
interior, at considerable distances, but these were separated by ridges
of the Cordillera which were, in fact, ramparts capable of defending a
warlike people almost without the aid of military improvement. Until
within a few years, the back of a horse or of a mule; an old fashioned
LITERA swung between two beasts
[Illustration: TRAVELLING IN A LITERA]
of burthen, or an antiquated clumsy Mexican coach, were the only means
of travelling. Of these, the litera, a species of palanquin in which the
traveller reclined at ease upon his mattress and cushions, was by far
the most comfortable, and the use of this convenient vehicle is still
continued especially in the warmer parts of the country where exposure
to the sun is dangerous, and into which the modern diligence or stage
coach has not been introduced from the factories of the United States.
In many portions of Mexico, where the transportation has been for
centuries carried on by ARRIEROS with their mules and jackasses,
scarcely any thing of the original road remains, while the path that has
been so long trodden by the single file _Atajos_ of these useful beasts
has been worn so deeply by their feet in the yielding soil or rock, that
the animals themselves are often concealed by the steep sides of the
gully. Thousands of sturdy Mexicans have for years been employed as
ARRIEROS in this business of mule-carriage. The "CONDUCTA" is recognized
as one of the traditionary, time honored, and almost constitutional
institutions of the Republic, and it may easily be conceived that with
so powerful a body of honest, industrious men opposed to any new scheme
of transportation, it will require a long time for the enlightened
requirements of extended commerce to displace it. The fidelity of this
class has been already, elsewhere, alluded to; and whilst it is
personally reliable and responsible, its members are scarcely ever
attacked by the bands of robbers infesting the recesses of the
mountains, and laying in wait for less numerous, resolute or organized
way-farers. Millions were, and still are, often entrusted to them with
perfect confidence by the government and the people.
Nevertheless, within the last fifteen years the growing manufactures of
Mexico required a stouter means of transportation of heavy machinery
than the limbs of a mule, and the consequence was that intelligent
foreigners availing themselves of this want in the first instance,
gradually introduced heavy wagons like those of the European _roulage_
system, into which, by degrees, they forced a large portion of the bulky
commercial freight which was to be borne from the coast into the
interior. Simultaneously with this encroachment on the mule, the
arriero, and the litera, appeared the American stage coach, built in New
York; and together with the coach and its spirited horses, came the
"Yankee driver," whose accommodating and daring character soon made him
a favorite with those whose trade he in some measure injured, though it
did not serve to protect him or his passengers from the attacks of
robbers. The line of diligences or coaches established from Vera Cruz to
the capital, passing through Jalapa, Peroté and Puebla, was gradually
extended northwards from the capital through the principal mining and
commercial cities of the north, and thus the means of swift and
comfortable travel was at length, though only recently, supplied to a
small part of Mexico.
The danger of robbers, the wretchedness of the roads, the discomfort of
inns and the old fashioned Mexican habit of staying at home, have,
therefore, hitherto prevented the masses of the people from going
abroad. A journey of two or three hundred miles, for any purpose but
business or emigration, is still regarded as an important undertaking.
When families depart on such an expedition the preparations embrace
almost every comfort and luxury required at home, except a cow and a
piano. Until very lately nothing but shelter or the commonest food was
to be had at the miserable _mesones_ or taverns along the roads. In most
of the less frequented regions this is still the case. It was necessary
therefore that travellers should be accompanied by a full complement of
servants, that they should carry with them an ample supply of bedding
and table furniture, that their long and numerous train should be fully
armed and equipped to fight its way if necessary, and that they should
be content to halt frequently, journey slowly, and linger on the road.
Inconveniences like these necessarily localized and confined all classes
of Mexicans except the very rich or those whose business imperatively
required them to encounter a life of expensive adventure. Nor was Mexico
a country of watering places and sea-side fashion, in which it was
customary, at certain seasons, for all whose means permitted, to fly
from the city to the fields or the shore for recreation and health.
Invalids, occasionally, under the stringent orders of physicians,
crawled to the warm baths or mineral waters which are abundant in a
volcanic country, but they were not followed by the idle crowds who
frequent similar places in Europe and the United States. Tens of
thousands are now living in the city of Mexico who have not even crossed
the lake to Tezcoco; while the fashionable or the wealthy are perfectly
satisfied if they make an annual peregrination in the month of May of
twelve miles to San Agustin de las Cuevas, where they spend three days
of frivolity, gambling, cockfighting, and dancing. The journeys of the
rest of the year are confined, as they are elsewhere in the Republic, to
an evening drive or ride on the Passeos and Alameda, or a more extended
excursion of a few miles to Tacubaya or San Angel. It was not the usage,
in the early days of Mexico or during the viceroyal government, to
travel for pleasure in a country conquered from the Indians, and still
ravaged by them or made insecure. The custom of the Spaniard has become
a habit of the Mexican. It may, in truth, be said that the spirit of
travel does not rule in Mexico, and that her people are stationary.
Railways do not traverse her valleys and plains, nor do electric
telegraphs convey the thoughts of her people thousands of miles in a
minute. Even the mail system is expensive, incomplete and inadequate.
Neither a steamboat nor a locomotive belongs to the nation.
In addition to all these habitual, accidental and geographical
difficulties of travelling over and exploring this mountain country, its
constant revolutionary state since the rebellion against Spain has
tended to retain people as much as possible either in the neighborhood
of their families or of their business and interests. Nor has scientific
education been extended sufficiently to form a large or enthusiastic
class of engineers who would have traversed the land and combined the
results of their observations. A few scattered students have, indeed,
published detached essays upon portions of the Republic, and the
_Comision de Estadistica Militar_ is now engaged in gathering
statistical and geographical reports of the several States. But the
elements from which these bulletins are constructed do not seem to be
collected upon any uniform system of very responsible scientific
inquiry. The local authorities from whom much of the numerical
information is necessarily obtained, if they are connected with any of
the branches of taxation, or revenue collection, are generally
unreliable or corrupt, for, in consequence of the system of peculation
which has been carried on during the late disorganized epoch of Mexican
history, it was their interest to conceal rather than to disclose facts,
especially when those facts manifested the great value or production of
the region over which they presided.
Nevertheless, amid all these sad excuses for insufficiency or
inaccuracy, we may congratulate Mexico upon the effort which she is now
making to redeem herself from the past opprobrium. The war with the
United States has taught her many things, social as well as political.
Education is beginning to be more valued and extended. Periodicals and
newspapers are more freely published and diffused. Their leading
articles and scientific communications show that new classes of writers
as well as politicians are coming readily into the field in a period of
assured peace and order. These two elements of national progress will
enable Mexico to become acquainted with herself, and when her students
disclose the result of their discoveries, we shall be glad to see our
imperfect but honest efforts superseded by a work that will confer honor
upon Spanish science and literature.
APPENDIX NO. 1.
PROFILE OF THE PLATEAU--MEXICO TO SANTA FÉ--SANTA FÉ TO THE GULF.
In order to afford the geographical student an idea of the central
configuration of Mexico, we annex the following tables of the lines of
levelling made by Baron Humboldt, Dr. Wislizenius, Oteiza, and Burkart,
northwardly from the city of Mexico to Santa Fé; and eastwardly from
Santa Fé to Reynosa near the Gulf of Mexico. From the first of these we
learn that the _plateau_ which forms the broad crest of the Mexican
Cordillera by no means sinks down to an inconsiderable height as was
long supposed to be the case but that it maintains, throughout, its
majestic elevation.
1st. Elevation above the sea from the
city of Mexico to Santa Fé.
Mexico 7,469 ft. above sea.
Tula 6,733 " " "
San Juan del Ri 6,490 " " "
Querétaro 6,362 " " "
Celaya 6,017 " " "
Salamanca 5,761 " " "
Guanajuato 6,836 " " "
Silao 5,911 " " "
Villa de Leon 6,133 " " "
Lagos 6,376 " " "
Aguas Calientes 6,261 " " "
San Luis Potosi 6,090 " " "
Zacatécas 8,038 " " "
Fresnillo 7,244 " " "
Durango 6,848 " " "
Parras 4,985 " " "
Saltillo, 5,240 " " "
El Bolson de Mapimi 3,785 " " "
Chihuahua 4,638 " " "
Cosihuiriachi 6,273 " " "
Paso del Norte on }
the Rio Grande } 3,810 " " "
Santa Fé in New }
Mexico } 7,047 " " "
2d. From Santa Fé in New Mexico
to Reynosa on the Rio Grande.
Santa Fé 7,047 ft. above sea.
3 miles N. of }
Alburquerque near } 4,813 " " "
the Rio Grande }
Jornado del Muerto 4,452 " " "
Brazito 3,918 " " "
Upon crossing of the }
Rio Grande } 3,797 " " "
Paso del Norte 3,810 " " "
S. of Rio Carmen 4,219 " " "
S. of Gallego 5,317 " " "
Rio Sacramento 4,940 " " "
Chihuahua 4,638 " " "
Aguachi 5,952 " " "
Cosihuiriachi 6,273 " " "
Bachimba 3,956 " " "
El Saucillo 3,955 " " "
Cadena 5,056 " " "
Mapimi 4,487 " " "
El Bolson de Mapimi 3,785 " " "
Parras 4,985 " " "
La Encantada 6,104 " " "
Saltillo 5,240 " " "
Rinconada 3,381 " " "
Monterey 1,626 " " "
Marin 1,354 " " "
Ceralvo 1,006 " " "
Mier 417 " " "
Camargo 422 " " "[70]
Reynosa 104 " " "
"If we consider,"--says Humboldt in his Views of Nature,--"that in the
north and south direction the difference of latitude between Santa Fé
and the city of Mexico is more than sixteen degrees, and that
consequently the distance in a meridian direction, independently of
curvatures on the road is more than 960 miles, we are led to ask whether
in the whole world, there exists any similar formation of equal extent
and height, between 5,000 and 7,500 feet, above the level of the sea.
Four-wheeled wagons can travel from Mexico to Santa Fé. The plateau
whose levelling is here described is formed solely by the broad
undulating flattened crest of the chain of the Mexican Andes; it is not
the swelling of a valley between two mountain chains, such as the Great
Basin between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada of California in
the Northern Hemisphere; or the elevated plateau of the Lake of
Titicaca, between the eastern and northern chains of Bolivia; or the
plateau of Thibet between the Himilaya and Quenlun, in the Southern
Hemisphere."--Page 209, Humb. Views of Nature.
APPENDIX NO. 2.
MEXICAN COINS.
1 onza--gold, = 16 dollars.
1 peso--silver, = 1 dollar.
1 real--silver, = 12-1/2 cents.
1 medio real--silver, = 6-1/4 cents.
1 quartillo--copper, = 3-1/8 cents.
1 tlaco--copper, = 1-9/16 cents.
MEASURES.
1 foot = 0.928 feet English.
1 vara (three feet Mexican) = 2.784 feet English = 2 feet 9.3141 inches English.
1 legua (26.63 to 1 meridian) = 5000 varas = 2.636 miles English.
WEIGHTS.
1 onza--(8 ochavos) = 1 ounce.
1 marco--(8 onzas) = 1/2 pound.
1 libra--(2 marcos) = 1 pound.
1 arroba--(25 libras) = 25 pounds.
1 quintal--(4 arrobas) = 100 pounds.
1 carga--(3 quintals) = 300 pounds.
1 fanega--(140 pounds) = 2 bushels nearly.
1 almuer--(almuerza) = 1/12 of a fanega.
1 frasco = 5 pints nearly.[71]
TABLE OF LAND MEASURES ADOPTED IN THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
Key to column A, Names of Measures, below.
A: Names of measures.
B: Sitio de ganado mayor,
C: Criadero de ganado mayor,
D: Sitio de ganado _menor_,
E: Criadero de ganado _menor_,
F: Caballeria de tierra,
G: Media cabelleria,
H: Cuarto cabelleria or suerte de tierra,
I: Fanega de sembradura de maiz,
J: Solar para casa,
K: Fundo legal para pueblos,
Length of
Figures of the fig. Breadth Areas in Areas in
A measures. in varas. in varas. sq. varas. Cabellerias.
B Square 5,000 5,000 25,000,000 41.023
C Square 2,500 2,500 6,250,000 10.255
D Square 3,333-1/3 3,333-1/3 11,111,111-1/9 18.232
E Square 1,666-2/3 1,666-2/3 2,777,777-7/9 4.558
F { Right angled }
{ parallelogram } 1,104 552 609,408 1
G Square 552 552 304,704 1/2
H { Right angled }
{ parallelogram } 552 276 152,352 1/4
I { Right angled }
{ parallelogram } 376 184 56,784 1/12
J Square 50 50 2,500 0.004
K Square 1,200 1,200 1,440,000 2.036
The Mexican _Vara_ is the unit of all measure of length, the pattern and
size of which are taken from the _Castilian Vara of the Mark of Burgos_,
which is the legal vara used in the Republic. Fifty Mexican varas make a
measure called _Cordel_, used in measuring lands.
The legal _league_ contains 900 _cordels_, or 5000 _varas_. The league
is divided into halves and quarters--this being the only division made
of it. Anciently the Mexican league was divided into three miles, the
mile into a thousand paces of Solomon, and one of these paces into
five-thirds of a Mexican vara--consequently the league had 3000 paces of
Solomon. This division is recognized in legal affairs, though it has
been long in disuse. The _mark_ was equivalent to two varas and
seven-eighths, that is, 8 marks contained 22 varas, and was used in land
measure.
See Appendix No. 9 to Captain Halleck's Report on Californian
affairs,--pages 119 and 145 of Executive Document No. 17, 31st Congress,
1st Session.
BOOK VI.
THE TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO
AND
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA;
AS PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA.
THE TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO.
EXPLORATION OF THE FAR WEST--LONG, NICOLLET, FRÉMONT--SANTA FÉ
TRADE--FIRST ADVENTURERS--CARAVANS--NEW MEXICO ERECTED BY CONGRESS
INTO A TERRITORY--GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF NEW MEXICO--THE RIO
GRANDE--ITS
VALUE--SOIL--PRODUCTS--IRRIGATION--CATTLE--INDIANS--MINES--GOLD
--SILVER--COPPER--IRON--GYPSUM--SALT---
CLIMATE--PUEBLO INDIANS--WILD INDIANS ENUMERATED--NUMBER OF PUEBLO
INDIANS--CENSUS--PROXIMATE PRESENT POPULATION--CHARACTER OF PEOPLE
AND GOVERNMENT--SANTA FÉ--ALBURQUERQUE--VALLEY OF TOAS--STATISTICS
OF SANTA FÉ TRADE, ETC.--ITINERARY FROM FORT LEAVENWORTH TO SANTA
FÉ AND EL PASO.
It was not until a few years ago that the people of the United States
generally began to turn their attention to the development of those vast
regions lying in the far west and along the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
An occasional adventurer or foreign traveller returned from the Rocky
Mountains after a pleasant but wild sojourn among the trappers and
Indians, and told his romantic stories to eager listeners. At length,
Major Long penetrated their recesses,--Nicollet sought the sources of
the Mississippi,--and Frémont not only pushed his way beyond them, but
traversed the majestic snow-buried summits of the Sierra Nevada and
explored the genial lands lying at their feet in California.
Meanwhile a trade had grown up, midway from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
between our western cities and the northern States of Mexico. But this,
too, was an intercourse of mingled adventure, romance and commerce. Its
objects and results were not generally known or recounted in the
gazettes. Its hardy pursuers who were equally ready for a bargain or a
battle, did not commonly amuse themselves either with correspondence or
authorship, and accordingly, "The Santa Fé Trade" remained as much a
matter of mystery to the mass of Americans as the marches of those great
caravans which in the east annually traverse the desert towards the tomb
of the Prophet.
* * * * *
The origin of this trade is not definitely known. A certain James
Pursely, who wandered in the lonely regions west of the Mississippi
about the year 1805, and learned something respecting the settlements in
New Mexico from Indians near the sources of the Platte river, is
supposed to have been the first _American_ who visited Santa Fé in this
direction; though, in the previous year, a _French Creole_ named La
Lande, had been despatched by Mr. Morrison, a merchant of Kaskaskia,
with orders if possible to reach Santa Fé. It is known that this person
arrived at his destination, but was so delighted with the country and so
well entertained, that he never returned, and probably established
himself in successful trade upon the capital of his confiding employer.
From this period, and after the Southern Expedition of Captain Pike,
very little is heard of this distant region until a caravan was fitted
out under the auspices of Messrs. Knight, Beard, Chambers, and about
eight other persons, in the year 1812. They reached Santa Fé in an
unlucky hour. The revolutionary movements which had been disturbing
Mexico were just then checked by the successes of the royalists, and the
traders were siezed as spies, their goods confiscated, and themselves
confined in the prisons of Chihuahua for nine years, when McKnight and
his comrades were finally released. As soon as these luckless
adventurers reached the United States, their return, their narratives
and the probable settlement of the Mexican revolution by the successes
of Iturbidé, induced others to fit out expeditions at once. A merchant
of Ohio, named Glenn, and Captain Becknell, of Missouri, set out
forthwith; and in 1824, about eighty traders, accompanied by several
intelligent and cultivated Missourians, departed not only with
pack-mules, which had hitherto served for the transportation of goods,
but with twenty-five wheeled vehicles of which one or two were stout
road _wagons_, the whole conveying a freight of near thirty thousand
dollars in merchandise. The caravan crossed the desert-plains after an
eventful journey; and some years after--as the early adventurers had
experienced no serious molestations from the Indians,--a wealthier class
of traders, availed themselves of the opened commerce of the Prairies
and finally established the annual caravans which within recent years
have departed from the neighborhood of Independence, laden with most
valuable freights for the markets of Santa Fé, Chihuahua, and even the
distant Fair of San Juan de los Lagos.
In time, however, the caravans, the period of their passage, and their
value, became known to the savages through whose lonely territory they
passed, and so many cruel attacks were made, that the United States
resolved to protect them and established military convoys for the most
dangerous part of the route. But these were not always of sufficient
size, nor did they cover the road adequately; for the escort which
accompanied the caravan of 1829, and another composed of sixty dragoons
under Captain Wharton in 1834, constituted the only government
protection until the year 1843, when large escorts under Captain Cook
attended two different caravans as far as the Arkansas river. Since that
period, the war has slightly interfered with the trade; but the Treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, having given New Mexico to the United
States, and a territorial government having been formed for it during
the first session of the thirty-first Congress, a new and progressive
era is about to dawn upon the whole of the hitherto lonely waste between
the western settlements of Texas and the shores of the Pacific.
By an act approved on the 9th of September, 1850, it is provided: "That
all that portion of the territory of the United States bounded as
follows: beginning at a point in the Colorado river, where the boundary
line with the Republic of Mexico crosses the same; thence eastwardly
with the said boundary line to the Rio Grande; thence following the main
channel of said river to the parallel of the thirty-second degree of
north latitude; thence east with said degree to its intersection with
the one hundred and third degree of longitude west of Greenwich; thence
north with said degree of longitude to the parallel of the thirty-eighth
degree of north latitude; thence west with said parallel to the summit
of the Sierra Madre; thence south with the crest of said mountains to
the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude; thence west with said
parallel to its intersection with the boundary line of the State of
California; thence with said boundary line to the place of
beginning,--be and the same is hereby erected into a temporary
government, by the name of the TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO: _Provided_, That
nothing in this act contained shall be construed to inhibit the
Government of the United States from dividing said Territory into two or
more Territories, in such manner and at such times as Congress shall
deem convenient and proper, or from attaching any portion thereof to any
other Territory or State: _And provided, further_, That, when admitted
as a State, the said Territory, or any portion of the same, shall be
received into the Union with or without slavery, as their constitution
may prescribe at the time of their admission."
Under the old Spanish and Mexican governments, the boundaries of New
Mexico were exceedingly indefinite; but this act forever fixes the
territorial limits, and also settles the long vexed question of the
boundary of Texas.
"New Mexico," says Dr. Wislizenius, in his excellent memoir on the
northern part of the Republic; "is a very mountainous country, with a
large valley in the middle, running from north to south, and formed by
the Rio del Norte or Rio Grande. The valley is generally about twenty
miles wide, and bordered on the east and west by mountain chains,
continuations of the Rocky Mountains, which have received different
names, such as La Sierra Blanca; Los Organos, and Oscura, on the eastern
side of the stream; and the Sierra de las Grullas, De Acha, and De los
Mimbres, towards the west. The height of these mountains south of Santa
Fé, may be averaged between six and eight thousand feet, while near
Santa Fé and the more northern regions, some snow covered peaks are seen
rising probably ten or twelve thousand feet above the sea. The mountains
are principally composed of igneous rocks, as granite, sienite, diorite,
and basalt. On the higher mountains excellent pine timber grows; on the
lower, cedars and sometimes oak, and in the valley of the Rio Grande,
principally mezquite.
The main artery of New Mexico is the Rio del Norte or Rio Grande, the
longest and largest river ever possessed by Mexico. Its head waters were
explored in 1807 by Captain Pike, between 37° and 38° north latitude;
but its highest sources are supposed to be about two degrees further
north in the Rocky Mountains, near the head waters of the Arkansas and
the Rio Grande or Colorado of the west. Following a general southern
direction, it runs through New Mexico--where its principal affluent is
the Rio Chamas from the west--and then winds its way in a south-eastern
direction, through the States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and
Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico in 25° 56´ north latitude. Its tributaries
in the latter States are the Pecos, from the north; the Conchos, Salado,
Alamo, and San Juan, from the south. The whole course of the river, in a
straight line, would be near twelve hundred miles; but from the
meandering of its lower half, it runs at least about two thousand miles
from the region of eternal snow to the almost tropical climate of the
Gulf. The elevation of the stream above the sea at Alburquerque, in New
Mexico, is about forty-eight hundred feet; at El Paso del Norte, about
thirty-eight hundred; and at Reynosa,--between three and four hundred
miles from its mouth--about one hundred and seventy feet. The fall of
its water between Alburquerque and El Paso, appears to be from two to
three feet in a mile, and below Reynosa, one foot in two miles. This
fall of the river is seldom used as motive power, except for some flour
mills, which are oftener worked by mules than water. The principal
advantage at present derived from it is for agriculture, by a well
conducted system of irrigation. As to its navigation, it is very
doubtful if even canoes could be used _in New Mexico_, except, perhaps,
during May and June, when the stream, from the melting of the snow in
the mountains, is at its highest stage. It is entirely too shallow and
interrupted by too many sand bars, to promise any thing for
transportation; yet, on the southern portion, the recent exploration by
Captain Sterling, in the United States steamer Major Brown, has proved
that steamboats may ascend for a distance of seven hundred miles between
the Gulf and Laredo. This steamer, however, did not draw over two feet
of water, but the explorers are of opinion that by spending one hundred
thousand dollars in a proper improvement of the Rio Grande above the
town of Mier, boats drawing four feet could readily ply between the
mouth of the river and Laredo.
The soil in the valley of the Rio Grande, in New Mexico, is generally
sandy and appears to be poor; yet, by irrigation, it is made to produce
abundant crops. Though agriculture has been hitherto carried on in a
very primitive way, either with the hoe alone, or with a very rough
plough made entirely of wood, nevertheless the inhabitants raise large
quantities of the staple productions--such as Indian corn, wheat, beans,
onions, red peppers, and some fruits. The most fertile part of the
valley, begins below Santa Fé along the river, and is called the 'Rio
abajo,' or Country down the Stream. In that region it is not uncommon to
gather two annual harvests. The general dryness of the climate and
aridity of the soil will always confine agriculture to the valleys of
water courses, which rarely contain running water during the whole year.
But on several occasions it was remarked, in the high table land from
Santa Fé south, that at a certain depth layers of clay are found, that
may form reservoirs for the sunken water courses from the eastern and
western mountain chain, and consequently, by the improved method of
boring, or by Artesian wells, they might easily be made to yield their
water to the surface. If experiments to that effect should prove
successful, the progress of agriculture in New Mexico would be more
rapid, and, even many of the dreaded 'Jornadas' might be changed from
waterless deserts into cultivated plains.
The present system of irrigation is effected by daming the streams, and
throwing the water into larger and smaller ditches or _acequias_
surrounding and intersecting the whole cultivated land. The inhabitants
of towns and villages locate their farms together, and allot to each the
use of a part of the water at certain definite periods. These common
fields are generally left without fences, for the grazing cattle are
always guarded by _vaqueros_ or herdsmen. The finest cultivated fields
are generally seen on the _haciendas_, or large estates belonging to the
rich proprietors. These _haciendas_ are a remnant of the old Spanish
system by which large tracts, with the appurtenances of Indian
inhabitants or serfs were granted by the crown to its vassals. The great
number of human beings attached to such estates, are, in fact, nothing
more than slaves; they receive from their masters only food, lodging,
and raiment, or, perhaps a mere nominal pay, and are kept constantly in
debt and dependance on their landlords; so that if ancient custom and
natural indolence did not compel them to remain permanently with their
hereditary masters, the enforcement of Mexican laws against debtors
would be sufficient to prolong their servitude from generation to
generation.
Besides agriculture, the New Mexicans pay a great deal of attention to
the raising of cattle. Their stock is all of a small size, raised from
unimproved or exhausted breeds; but it increases rapidly, and as no
stable feeding is needed in winter, it exacts but little care from its
owners. There are large tracts of land in New Mexico, either too
mountainous or too distant from water to be cultivated, which,
nevertheless, afford excellent pasturage for innumerable herds during
the whole year; but, unfortunately, here as well as in the State of
Chihuahua, cattle raising has been crippled by the incursions of hostile
Indians, who consider themselves 'secret partners' in the business, and
annually carry off their share from the unprotected _vaqueros_.
A third much neglected branch of industry in New Mexico, is that of
mining. Numerous deserted mining places in this region prove that it was
pursued with much greater zeal in Spanish times than at present. This
may be accounted for by the actual want of capital and knowledge of
mining, but, especially, by the unsettled state of the country and the
arbitrary conduct of its rulers. The mountainous parts of New Mexico are
considered extremely rich in gold, copper, iron, and some silver. Gold
seems to be found to a large extent in all the mountains near Santa Fé;
south of it, at a distance of about one hundred miles as far as "Gran
Quivara," and north for about one hundred and twenty miles up to the
river Sangre de Christo. Throughout the whole of this region gold dust
has been abundantly found by the poorer classes of Mexicans, who occupy
themselves with washing it from the mountain streams. At present the Old
and New _Placeres_, or places where gold is obtained near Santa Fé, have
attracted most attention, and not only _gold washes_ but _gold mines_,
also, are worked there. Yet they are probably the _only_ gold mines at
present wrought in the territory. The _wash gold_ when examined was
found to contain:
Native Gold, 92.5
Silver, 3.5
Iron and Silex, 4.0
-----
100.0;--
while the total annual production of both _placeres_ seems to have
varied considerably;--in some years it was estimated at from thirty to
forty thousand dollars, in others from sixty to eighty thousand, and in
latter years, it is reputed to have ascended to even two hundred and
fifty thousand.
Several rich silver mines were, in Spanish times, worked at Avo, at
Cerillos, and in the Nambe mountains, but none are in operation at
present. Copper is found in _abundance_ throughout the country, but
principally at Las Tijeras, Jemas, Abiquia, and Gudalupita de Mora, but
until a recent period only one copper mine was wrought south of the
_placeres_. Iron, though also existing in very large quantities, has
been entirely overlooked. Coal is found in different localities--as in
the Raton mountains; in the vicinity of the village of Jimez, south-west
of Santa Fé; and in spots south of the _placeres_. Gypsum, common and
selenite, are discovered abundantly, and it is said that most extensive
layers exist in the mountains near Algodon, on the Rio Grande, and in
the neighborhood of the celebrated _Salinas_. It is used as common lime
for white-washing, while the crystalline or selenite is employed instead
of window glass. About one hundred miles, south south-east of Santa Fé,
on the high table land between the Rio Grande and Pecos, are some
extensive _salinas_ or salt lakes, from which all the salt used in New
Mexico is procured. Large caravans from Santa Fé visit this place every
year during the dry season, and return heavily laden with the precious
deposits. They either sell it for one and sometimes two dollars per
bushel, or exchange a bushel of salt for a bushel of Indian corn.
The climate of New Mexico differs of course in the higher mountainous
parts from the lower valley of the Rio Grande; but, generally, it is
temperate, constant and healthy. The summer heat in the valley of the
river sometimes rises to near 100° Farenheit; yet the nights are always
cool, pleasant, and refreshing. The winters are longer and severer than
in Chihuahua, for the higher mountains are always covered with snow,
while ice and snow are common in Santa Fé, though the Rio Grande is
never sufficiently frozen to admit the passage of horses and vehicles.
The sky is generally clear and the atmosphere dry. Between July and
October rain falls; but the wet season is not so constant or regular as
in the Southern States of the Mexican Republic. Disease seems to be very
little known except in the form of inflammations and typhoidal fevers
during the winter.
[Illustration: INDIAN PUEBLO, OR VILLAGE.]
Between the Indians and the whites,--except perhaps on the
haciendas--there still continues the same old rancorous feeling which
generated the general insurrection narrated in the historical part of
this work. The PUEBLO Indians live always isolated in their villages,
cultivate the soil, raise some stock, and are generally poor, frugal,
and sober. These various tribes, of which a large number still exist,
are reduced to probably about seven thousand souls. They speak
different dialects and sometimes broken Spanish. For the government of
their communities they select a _Cacique_ and a council, and in war are
led by a Capitan. In religious rites they mingle Catholicism and
Paganism. Their villages are very regularly built; though sometimes,
there is but one large house of several stories, with a vast number of
small rooms, in which all the inhabitants of the _pueblo_ are quartered!
Instead of doors in front, traps are made on the roofs of their
dwellings to which they ascend by a ladder that is withdrawn during the
night so as to secure them, from surprise or attack. Their dress
consists of moccasins, short breeches and a woollen jacket or blanket;
their black hair is usually worn long, while bows and arrows together
with a lance and sometimes a gun compose their weapons.[72]
* * * * *
The late Governor, Charles Bent, in a report to the United States
Government from Santa Fé in 1846, presents the following statement of
the tribes and numbers of the WILD INDIANS, who reside or roam in the
regions which were then supposed to be comprised in New Mexico. Bent's
perfect familiarity with a district in which he had so long dwelt or
traded, renders his enumeration of these savages an important historical
fact in the history of the newly acquired Territory.
Apaches or Jicarillas, 100 lodges comprising 500 souls.
Apaches proper, 800 or 900 " " 5,500 "
Utahs, Grande Unita rivers, 600 " " 3,000 "
Utahs, Southern, 200 " " 1,400 "
Navajos, 1,000 families " 7,000 "
Moques, 350 " " 2,450 "
Comanches, 2,500 lodges " 12,000 "
Cayugas, 400 " " 2,000 "
Cheyennes, 300 " " 1,500 "
Arapahoes, 400 " " 1,600 "
------
TOTAL, 36,950 "
According to a report made in October, 1849, by Mr. James S. Calhoun,
Indian Agent at Santa Fé, the following summary of the _Pueblos_, and
_Pueblo Indians_ of New Mexico, is based on a census ordered by the
legislature of New Mexico, convened in December, 1847; but it includes
only individuals five years of age and upwards.
PUEBLOS AND PUEBLO INDIANS OF NEW MEXICO.
PUEBLO INDIANS
Counties. PUEBLOS. over 5 years
County of Taos, Taos, Picoris 283
" Rio Arriva, San Juan, Santa Clara 500
" Santa Fé, { San Ildefonso, Namba, }
{ Pojoaque, Tezuque } 590
{ Cochiti, Santo Domingo,}
" Santa Anna, { San Félipé, Santa Anna, } 1,918
{ Ziá, Jemez, }
" Bernalillo, Sandia, Gleta, 833
" Valencia, Laguna, Acoma, Zunia, 1,800
Opposite El Paso, Socoro, Islettas, 600
-----
Total of PUEBLOS 21. Total of Pueblo Indians 6,524
These calculations will serve to aid in the estimates of present
population, for no accurate census has been prepared officially for many
years.
In 1793, according to an enumeration then made, the _whole_ population
amounted to 30,953:--in 1833 it is estimated, in the statistics of
Galvan's Calendar, at 52,300 individuals, who were divided by
Mühlenpfordt and Dr. Wislizenius into 1/20 pure Spanish blood, 4/20
Creoles, 5/20 Mestizos, and 10/20 Pueblo Indians. These calculations,
according to the above census of _Pueblo Indians_, would make the whole
present population not more than thirteen or fourteen thousand, which is
obviously incorrect unless the census of 1847 was most inaccurately
made.
In a letter from the Hon. Hugh N. Smith, delegate from New Mexico,
addressed to the National Intelligencer, Washington, and published on
the 25th of June, 1850, he desires to correct the mistakes which have
been made in regard to the number and character of the inhabitants of
New Mexico. The number, he says, has been variously stated in the
Congressional debates at from ten to seventy thousand; and generally
_one half_, and sometimes _all_ of them, are said to be _Indians_. "This
is a great error," continues the delegate, "we have a population of at
least ninety thousand, of whom from ten to twelve thousand only are
Pueblo Indians, and we do not estimate in our population any other kind
of Indians except Pueblos. They are a quiet, inoffensive, honest, and
industrious people; they own the best farming lands in the Territory,
and are engaged entirely in agricultural pursuits, and, as tax-paying
Indians, would be entitled to the privileges of citizens, and of the
elective franchise in Texas.
"The census taken in New Mexico the year before the entrance of General
Kearney into that Territory, showed the population to be one hundred
thousand and two or three hundred over. This may not have been taken
with great accuracy, but the best informed persons, and those who have
lived there longest agree with me that we have not less than ninety
thousand. Dr. Wislizenius, who is generally correct in his accounts of
travel, and who is relied upon as good authority, in his statistics of
that country, is certainly mistaken in saying that ten-twentieths, or
one-half of the population, are Pueblo Indians. I have travelled through
the settled parts of that country two or three times a year for the last
three years, and I know that not a fifth, or even one-sixth are Indians.
"There are in New Mexico from twelve to fifteen hundred resident
_American voters_, emigrants from the different States, principally from
the State of Missouri; the rest of the population is Mexican and
Spanish."
Upon these estimates and calculations it would perhaps be fair, in
arriving at a proximate enumeration of inhabitants, to give the
following ratios:--