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The intendency of Vera Cruz embraces a strip of ma- BOOK ritime districts, the lower part of which, almost deserted, LXXXV. contains little else than sand marshes, placed under a burn- The intening sun. In the province of Guasteca, we meet with the dency of town of Panuco, situated on a navigable river, at the mouth Vera Cruz. of which is the port of Tampico, obstructed like all the rest on that coast by sand banks.

In the thick forests of Papantla, on the sides of the Pyramid of Cordilleras, rises a pyramid of a still more beautiful form Papantla. than that of Teotihuacan and Cholula. It measures nineteen and one-half yards in height, upon a base of twentyeight yards; and is constructed of porphyritic stones, very regularly chiselled, and covered with hieroglyphics.*

The beautiful town of Vera Cruz, the centre of a Towns. wealthy trade which, in time of peace, Mexico keeps up with Europe, owes nothing to the kindness of nature. The rocks of Madrepore, of which it is built, have been taken up from the bottom of the sea. The only water fit for drinking, is collected in cisterns. The climate is hot and unhealthy; arid sands surround the town, while, to the south, the weary eye has nothing to rest on but ill-drained marshes. The harbour, which is insecure, and of difficult access, is protected by the fort of Saint Jean d'Ulua, which is built on a rocky islet at immense expense. The population, estimated at 16,000 inhabitants, is often swept away by the yellow fever. To enjoy refreshing coolness, and all the charms of nature, the rich inhabitants often repair to Xalapa, a considerable town, situated on one of the terraces by which the central plateau sinks into the Gulf of Mexico. This town has given its name to the medicinal root denominated Jalap. The fortress of Perote, looked upon as one of the keys of Mexico, is situated in the environs of Xalapa. The province of Tabasco, the Tabasco. most southern portion of the intendency of Vera Cruz, is covered with forests, which produce dye woods, and re

* Marquez, Monumenti d'Architettura Mexicana, tab. I. A. de Humboldt. Views and Monuments, p. 26. Essay on Mexico, II. 345.

BOOK Sound with the roar of the Mexican tiger. In cultivated LXXXV. spots, which are but thin sown, maize, tobacco, and pepper are produced.

Intendency The intendency of Oaxaca, also called Guaxaca, after of Oaxaca. an Indian town, contains the two ancient countries of the Miztecs and the Zapotecs. This fertile and salubrious region abounds in mulberry trees, cultivated for the sake of the silk worm. A great deal of sugar, cotton, wheat, cocoa, and other fruits grow there; but cochineal is its principal riches. Its granitic mountains conceal mines of gold, silver, and lead, which, however, are neglected. Several rivers bring down gold dust, which the women are employed in collecting. Rock-crystal is likewise met with. Guaxaca, otherwise denominated Antequera, is a town of 24,000 inhabitants, situated in the delicious valley which Charles the Fifth bestowed on the descendants of Cortez, with the title of the Marquisate de Valle. Very fine wool is obtained here, and excellent horses crowd its rich pastures, which are watered by a beautiful river, and refreshed by a temperate and humid atmosphere. At the mouth of the river Guaxaca they have established a dock-yard for the building of vessels.

Tehuantepec has a harbour on the Pacific Ocean, which, in spite of its natural disadvantages, derives importance from being the central depot between Mexico and GuatiRemark- mala. The ruins of edifices at Mitla indicate a very adable ruins. vanced state of civilization. The walls of the palace are

decorated with what architects denominate the Grecian scroll, and labyrinths or meanders, executed in Mosaic work, the design of which resembles what we see on the vases named Etruscan. Six unfinished columns of an imposing magnitude, that have been found here, are the only ones that have been hitherto discovered among the monuments of America.*

A. de Humboldt, Views and Monuments, p. 270, (rol. I. p. 159, English T.)

The peninsula of Fucatan, or the Intendency of Merida, BOOK is no better known now than it was in the sixteenth century. LXXXV. Hernandez and Grijalva found it peopled by a civilized Yucatan nation, who were dressed with some degree of luxury, and inhabited houses built of stone. They were possessed of Ancient ininstruments, vases, and ornaments made of gold. Some of habitants. these articles were adorned with a species of Mosaic work, executed in turquois. Their Teocallis were bathed with the blood of human victims.* The indigenous natives speak the Maya language.

The country, which is very flat, is traversed, they say, Physical descripby a chain of low hills; and the climate is hot, but dry and tion. healthy. This district abounds in cochineal and logwood; in honey, wax, and cotton, from the latter of which they manufacture a good deal of printed cloth. But the dye wood is the principal object of their commerce. On the coast, a considerable quantity of ambergris is picked up. The shores of this peninsula are edged, as it were, with a sand bank, which sinks with very great regularity at the rate of one fathom per league. The maritime districts everywhere present a flat and sandy country. There is only one chain of elevated land, which terminates in a promontory between Cape Catoche and Cape Desconoscida. The coasts are covered with the mangrove tree, interwoven together by impenetrable hedges of althea and bamboo; and the soil is filled with sea shells. The droughts in the flat country commence in February, and soon become so general, that not a drop of water is anywhere to be seen. Their only resource is the wild pine, which, in its thick and spreading foilage, preserves some moisture; and water is drawn from it by incision. On the northern coast, at the mouth of the river Lagaitos, at the distance of 400 yards from the shore, the navigator is astonished to perceive a

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BOOK spring of fresh water rising up in the midst of the salt LXXXV. waves. These springs are called the Mouths of Conil.*

Towns.

English

Merida, the capital of the province, is a town containing 10,000 persons, inhabited by a nobility who are far from being rich. The town of Campeachy carries on a little trade with the salt extracted from its salt springs, some cotton cloth, and logwood. The island of Cozumel, or more properly Acuçemil, was celebrated for an oracle, to which the people on the continent repaired in crowds. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the natives worshipped a wooden cross, the origin of which was unknown. It was always invoked to procure rain, the chief want of this arid island.t

We have distinguished on our maps, under the name of Yucatan. English Yucatan, that part of the peninsula which lies to the south of the river Honda, and of the Spanish military post of Salamanca. This country, better watered and more fertile than the rest of the peninsula, is inhabited by independent Indians. The English, however, cut logwood and mahogany there, and have built the town of Balise, which is the residence of a titular Indian king, who receives the commission of his appointment from the government of Jamaica, and is installed by the English garrison. The islands of Rattan, Turnif, and others, washed by the singularly transparent waters of the Gulf of Honduras, are occupied by small English colonies.‡

Kingdom of Guatimala.

The name of Guatimala, or more correctly Quauhitemallan, that is to say, the place full of trees, originally belonged to a single district. The Spaniards have applied it to a Captain-Generalship, which bears the title of kingdom, and to one single province, comprehended within this kingdom.

Province of The province of Guatimala, properly so called, extends Guatimala. from the confines of Guaxaca to those of Nicaragua, along

*A. de Humboldt, Essay on Mexico, II. p. 329.

+ Gomara, Cronica de Nueva Hispana, ch. 14 and 15.

Henderson, Account of Honduras, (London, 1809,) and different Political Journals of London of 1816.

the Pacific Ocean. The climate in general is hot and moist. BOOK The plains are fertile, both in American and European fruit LXXXV. of a delightful flavour. The maize produces 300 for one, as well as the cocoa, with which they supply the whole kingdom of New Spain. Indigo of a superior quality is produced there, and the annotto is cultivated. The forests with which the mountains are covered give shelter and food to animals that are still imperfectly known; and many nondescript shrubs are met with, from which they distil valuable balsams. Many ports on the South Sea afford this province great facility for carrying on an advantageous commerce with Peru, Terra Firma, and New Spain. The coasts abound with fish, but fishing is not followed with any considerable activity. They likewise neglect their silver mines, which are said to be rich; but they collect the sulphur that floats on the surface of several lakes. The whole province is filled with volcanoes, and exceedingly subject to earthquakes.

of Guatimala.

Guatimala is the capital both of the province and king- Towns. dom of that name; and is the see of an archbishop, and the seat of a University. The ancient city was destroyed on the 7th June 1777, by one of the most tremendous earthquakes of which we have any record. From the third of June the agitated sea had risen from its bed; the two volcanoes adjacent to the town appeared to boil; one of them shot out torrents of water, the other, waves of blazing lava. On every side the earth was seen to gape in deep fissures. Destruction At length, after five days of unutterable anguish, the abyss opened, and the town, with all its riches, and 8000 families, was instantly swallowed up, while torrents of mud and sulphur, rushing over the ruins, obliterated for ever all vestiges of its former existence. The spot is now indicated by a frightful desert. The new city is built at the distance of four leagues from the site of the old town. We must not omit noticing Amatitlan, or the town of letters, so called in consequence of the talent which the Indians, its inhabitants, displayed for carving hieroglyphics on the bark of trees. The district of Soconusco, of which the chief

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