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MEXICO
AS IT AVAS AND AS IT IS:
B V
BRANTZ MAYER,
SECRETARA" OF THE U. S. LEGATION TO THAT COUNTRY IN 1841 AND 1812.

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD,
ENGRAVED EY BUTLER.

PYRAMID OF PAPAKTL&,

¦^EtD-Ucirk :
J. WINCHESTER, NEW WORLD PRESS.
&on!nw ana $aris t
WILEY AND PUTNAM.
MDCCCXLIV.

Entered according to Act of Congress,
B V J . WIKCHESTKK,
In the Clerk's Office of fl|c Southern Di>tnil ol" N'.:n -Yt.rl.

TO THE

HONORABLE POWHATAN ELLIS,

ENTOY EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY TO MEXICO.

THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY INSCKIBEE

BT HIS SINCERE FRIEND,

BRANTZ MAYER.

PREFACE

I have been exceedingly desirous to be just to Mexico, in the following letters,
and to set down nothing in a spirit either of malice or of praise.
Between our country and Mexico, a veil has been stretched for years, through
the obscuring meshes of which we have been compelled to behold our sister Re
public. We were taught to believe, that Texas was a territory struggling to free itself
from an abominable tyranny, and that the principles which animated our ancestors
in the war of '76, should induce us to look, with tearful eyes and anxious hearts,
upon a band of trampled heroes revolting against brutal taskmasters. The faults
of the persecutor and the trials of the sufferer were both exaggerated. Indi
viduals from some of our States were assailed by the temptation of profitable
adventure in a new and beautiful country ; — and thus, while our Government was
sincerely anxious to preserve her good faith to the very letter, persons have not
been wanting whose indiscretion has, at times, apparently compromised that faith,
and made us seem to be foes when, in fact, we were friends.
It is needless for me to say a word, at present, upon the character of the Texan
Revolution, and I have merely alluded to the subject, because I hold this revolt
to have greatly affected the mutual interests and feelings of Mexico and our
Union, while it has produced neither recognized independence nor domestic tran
quillity, to the Texans themselves.
Under these circumstances, I have felt it. to be my duty to speak of Mexico
plainly and justly ; and while I detailed its vices, its faults, its misery and its
revolutions, to record also the virtuous and meritorious characteristics of its popu
lation, which, if allowed the blessings of peaceful culture, would lead it to un
paralleled prosperity.
In the remarks which will be found herein, upon certain ceremonies in the
Roman Catholic Church in Mexico, I beg that my purpose may not be miscon
strued : I do not attack the faith or the institutions of that venerable society ;
" I speak not of men's creeds — they rest between
Man and his Maker ;"
but I have confined myself, exclusively, to those painful exhibitions, which cannot
fail to strike a stranger, as disadvantageous, both to intellectual progress, and
the pure and spiritual adoration of God. The mixture of antique barbaric show

vi PREFACE.
and Indian rites, may have served to attract the native population at the first
settlement of the country ; but their continuance is in keeping neither with the
spirit of the age nor the necessities of a Republic. While the priesthood has
contrived, in the course of centuries, to attract the wealth of multitudes, and
to make itself, in various ways, the richest proprietor of the nation, the people
have grown poor and continued ignorant. It has, therefore, appeared to me, that
in a Republic like Mexico, where the Roman Church is the only one tolerated
by the Constitution, it was the duty of that Establishment voluntarily to un
fetter its wealth, to reform its ritual, to sweep into the public coffers the useless
jewels that adorn the altars and statues — yet do not glorify the Almighty — and to
imitate the virtues, resolution and self-denial of its ministers in our country, who,
while blending themselves, in° politics and public spirit, most effectually with the
masses, have devoted their lives to the education of people of all creeds and
classes, for support and independence.
In my letters on Antiquities, and my descriptions of the condition of the ancient
Empire, I have followed, literally, the productions of Cortez, Bernal Diaz, Clavi-
gero, and Doctor McCulloh ; and if the industrious critic does not always find
the bottom of the page encumbered with references to volume and paragraph, T
beg him to believe, that I have only omitted them to save the patience of the
printer and of less exacting readers.
During my residence in Mexico, I passed many hours in the Museum, which
contains a large collection of Antiquities found throughout the Republic, and I
greatly regret that the occupation of my time by other duties limited me to but a
brief inspection and study of these relics. Besides this, there are but few persons
or works to aid a student in such pursuits. Yet, with my mind alive to the inte
rest recently created by American writers, and a natural affection for every monu
ment of our Continent's history, I confess, that while I looked with wonder at the
uncouth idols of a bloody religion, and the remains of a partial civilization, I desired
to convey to others at home some of the mingled amazement and interest with
which I found myself excited. I desired to do so, especially, with the hope that
men of leisure and taste for antiquarian pursuits, might be led to combine and
compare such drawings as I presented, with those more beautifully delineated in
the works of Mr. Stephens and of other writers ; and thus, in the course of time,
to produce a connected story of the Past. I have done this without pretension to
antiquarian lore. I have not presented my own drawings, alone, in these letters;
but I have collected others from a variety of valuable works that are too costly for
general circulation, or rarely to be found even in the libraries of the rich.* And
I venture to cherish the belief, that when the minds of many individuals are
enticed to apply themselves to the subject of American Antiquities, we may,
(even if no conclusive history be the result,) at least, preserve- many memorials
of those Red Races that are now vanishing like the leaves of .their native forests.
* There were but seventy copies printed, I believe, of Lord Kingsborough's great work on Mexican An
tiquities, but three of which are on this side of the Atlantic— one in Mexico, another in Philadelphia, and the
third in Boston.
Nmiel's tasteful work is, also, very costly ; and I presume there are not more than half a dozen copies at
most in our country.

PREFACE. Ta
As for myself, I have been, as it were, but a gatherer of pebbles. Some of them
are carved, and I give them to you to examine. We must all unite and lay our
offerings on the pile — no matter how humble. Time will build the monument.
It is in this spirit that I submit my accounts of Mexican Antiquities, and,
taking the place of a laboring quarrier who is willing to unearth the stones, I
leave it to the wiser architect to put each in its place and decipher its legends
and its sculpture.
I have added such statistical data as I could collect from authentic sources, upon
the Commerce, Agriculture, Manufactures, Coinage, Mines, Church and General
Government. In many instances, I have only been enabled to present estimates ; but when
compelled to do so, I have derived the details from experienced individuals, whose
long residence in Mexico and habits of accurate observation, entitle them to the
greatest confidence. This is all I could do in the absence of full and luminous
reports, like those annually issued by our Departments in Washington.
I have, thus, endeavored to gratify all readers who desire information on the
social condition, religion, antiquities, statistics, revolutions and politics of Mexico.
I have endeavored to lift the veil from the Past and the Present. The Mexicans
themselves must remove it from the Future

Baltimore, 1st December, 1843.

CONTENTS.

LETTER L
Voyage out, .... . ..... 1
LETTER II.
Vera Cruz, .......... . 3
LETTER in.
Ride to Xalapa, and the Robbers on the road, .......9
LETTER IV.
Xalapa and Perote, ..... ..... 15
LETTER V.
Puebla,  23
LETTER VI.
Pyramid of Cholula, ...  26
LETTER VII.
Last day's ride to Mexico, ..-...-...33 LETTER Vm.
The City of Mexico,  38
LETTER IX.
The City of Mexico,  .....48
LETTER X.
The City of Mexico, - ----- 54
LETTER XI.
ABuH.Fight, - -  : . 58

x CONTENTS. LETTER XII.
Virgin of Guadalnpe, and Festival,  ¦
LETTER XIII.
Court Ceremonies— General Santa Anna— Diplomatic Dinner, ... 70 I
LETTER XIV.
San Augustin de las Cuevas, and the Feast of San Augustin— Gambling and
Cock-fighting  ... 76 i
LETTER XV.
Revolution — Wax.figures — Museum — Antiquities, ..... 81
LETTER XVI.
Museum and Antiquities, ... ...... -90 I
LETTER XVII.
Teoyaomiqui— Mexican Mythology  109 I
LETTER XVIII.
Priests — Temples — Sacrifices, . ....... 115 j
LETTER XIX.
Mexican Calendar, . ......... 126 i
LETTER XX.
City of Mexico as it was at the Conquest, ....... 131 I
LETTER XXI.
Murders — Tacuba — Festival of Remedios, ....... 140 I
LETTER XXII.
Carnival — Lent — Holy-Week, ........ 149 |
LETTER XXIII.
Neighborhood of Mexico — Chapultepec — Tacubaya, and the murder of Mr. Eger-
ton — St. Angel — Desierto,  Igg ;
JOURNAL
Of a Journey in the Tierra-Caliente, being an account of a Visit to Cuemavaca
the Ruins of Xochicalco, Cavern of Cacahuawamilpa, Cuautla de Amilpas
and Mexican Haciendas, - ... jgj

CONTENTS. X[
LETTER XXIV.
Ascent to the summit of the Volcano of Popocatepetl, .... 208
JOURNAL
Of a Journey to Tezcoco — the Pyramids of Teotihuacan — the Hill of Tezcosingo,
&c. &c, and Account of American Antiquities, - . 217
LETTER XXV.
Whence came the ancient Population ? Who built the Ancient Cities ? Who
worshipped the Idols ? ... 254
LETTER XXVI.
City of Mexico — Public Institutions — Prisons, and Prison Statistics — Academy —
Private Collections, - . . . 265
LETTER XXVII.
Desagua — Carriages — Mules — Troops — Music — Opera — Recruits — Theatres —
Mexican Thieves— The Judge and Turkey, . . 282
LETTER XXVIII.
Mexican Character, - - - . 292
LETTER XXIX.
Territory — Population and Departments — Rates of Castes and Education — Schools
and Colleges — Periodicals, ... ... 299
LETTER XXX.
Commerce and Manufactures of Mexico, - ... 305
LETTER XXXI.
Revenue and Resources of Mexico — Army — Navy — Produce of Mines — Total
amount of Coinage — The Church — Its Wealth and Influence, - . - 317
LETTER XXXII.
Political History, - - 328
LETTER XXXIII.
Political Prospects of Mexico, ---------- 350
Conclusion, .---..-----•- 355

XII CONTENTS. APPENDIX NO. I.
A Supplementary Letter on the Sandwich Islands, the Californias, and the foreign
policy of the United States, in regard to the encroachments of England, 357
APPENDIX NO. II.
Letters from H. R. Colcraft, Esq., on American Antiquities, .... 379
APPENDIX NO. III.
Letter from Horatio Hale, Esq., on the Origin of the Mexican Tribes, . . 382
APPENDIX NO. IV.
Meteorological Observations in the City of Mexico,  384
APPENDIX NO. V.
Prices of Provisions, &c, &c. -  385

MEXICO

AS IT WAS AND AS IT IS

LETTER I.

VOYAGE TO VERA CRUZ.

I left New- York on the 27th of October, 1841, with a fair wind, and
on the twelfth day after, at sunrise, saw the lofty peak of Orizaba, towering
above the distant line of the western horizon.
I have rarely beheld a more beautiful sight than this was. The mar
itime Alps, as seen from the Gulf of Lyons, present a spectacle of great
majesty and beauty. But this grand and solitary peak, lifting its head
more than 17,000 feet above the ocean, the sentinel, as it were, of a land
toward which you may still sail for days before you arrive, has struck
every traveller with wonder since the days when Cortez first hailed it on
his adventurous voyage for the conquest of Mexico.
******
Our vessel has been quite full of passengers in cabin and steerage ;
merchants, going out to gather in their fortunes in this country ; manu
facturers, keen and thrifty, with their machinery, ready to take advantage
of the ample profits to be reaped in the " cotton line" from the protection
of national industry in Mexico ; a German student, fresh from his alma
mater, adventuring for fortune in Vera Cruz, in spite of all competition
and the vomito; a gentle maiden, sighing for somebody at the end of the
voyage ; a staunch Scotch operative, with a wife and two children, the
latter of whom made up in their little private volunteer squalls for the
sea squalls we missed • and last of all. a worthy old Italian fighter, who
1

2 MEXICO.
had gone with Napoleon through all his campaigns, and, at length, deter-
mining that war was not a thriving occupation, had pitched upon a way
of making his fortune by taking a dapper little Mexican body, for his wife,
and the " hatting business," as a trade.
In fact, we had on board specimens of all that active industry ¦ and
fearless enterprise, which push the fortunes of our native and adopted
citizens all over the world, and make our country known as much by the
resistless energy of her children, as by the political liberty they enjoy at
home, or which is extended to them by the protection of her flag abroad.
I commenced this voyage in low spirits, and with but a slight desire to
partake of the pleasures of the cabin ; but, what with charming weather
and good companionship, I was soon drawn forth from my state-room, to
the social table ; and rarely have I passed a more agreeable time in a
voyage at sea. The variety of character thus blended together, was
both amusing and instructive. There were tempers to suit the grave and
the gay ; and when the hour came for separation, we met for the last
time around the board with saddened hearts, at the contemplation of the
certainty that by far the larger portion of us would meet no more, and
that all were about to encounter the uncertainties of fortune in a strange
country, amid prejudices, disease, and revolutions.

LETTER II.

VERA CRUZ.

You left me in sight of land — on soundings — with the Peak of Orizaba
in full view; and although we presumed it highly probable that we
would make our harbor before evening, yet were we disappointed.
The wind became baffling toward noon, and notwithstanding our captain
was a brave man and stanch seaman, he determined, at nightfall, to'
avoid running close in with the shore, and therefore " lay to" until day
light. Nothing could be more provoking ; the city was not more than ten
miles distant, and the lights in the houses were distinctly visible over the
level sea.
With the first streak of dawn, however, all was bustle on deck, and the
topsails spread to the morning breeze. Day broke gloriously over the
sea ; our colors were run up ; the ship headed for the harbor ; and when
within a mile or two of the castle, a pilot came on board. Our first in
quiry was as to the yellow fever — our next, as to the revolution. Of
the first disease there were no remains, and the latter had terminated in
the political death of Bustamante.
At eight o'clock we moored under the walls of the Castle of St. Juan
de Ulloa ; and in an hour afterward, with umbrellas spread to protect us
from the scorching November sun, we landed on the quay which has for
so many years poured out the wealth of Mexico.
Vera Cruz lies on a low, sandy shore, extending for miles along the
coast. I will not trouble you with the details of this city's history, famous
as the spot where thousands have come to die of the vomito — or, to make
their fortunes (if they survive the certain attack of that disease,) and
return with shattered constitutions to colder climates, to ache in memory
of the heat they endured in Mammon's service.
Landing at the Moletta, the first thing that struck me was a gang of
more than a hundred galley-slaves, chained, and at work in the broil
ing sun, cutting and carrying stone to repair the broken pier. The
second was the roofs of the churches, which seemed to be covered with
mourning, as I supposed for some deceased prelate. The mourning
turned out, however, to be nothing more than thousands of zopilotes or
turkey-buzzards, the chief of whom is usually perched on the peak of
the cross of the loftiest church — a sentinel for prey ! These two classes
of folks, to wit : the galley-slaves and zopilotes, constitute a large part
1*

4 MEXICO.
of the most useful population of Vera Cruz— the former being the city
authorities' laborers, the latter the city authorities' scavengers. It is a
high crime to kill a zopilote. He is under the protection of the laws, and
walks the streets with as much nonchalance and as " devil-may-care "
a look as other " gentlemen in black," who pick the sins from our souls
as these creatures pick impurities from the streets.
The Mole, or quay, is of good masonry and furnished with stairs and
cranes for the landing of goods, though from the great violence of the
ocean during the Northers, and the great neglect of proper repairs, it is
likely to be entirely ruined. In heavy weather the sea makes a clear
breach over it ; yet this, and the Castle of San Juan on a land-spit near
a mile off, are the only protections for the shipping of all nations and the
commerce of more than half the Republic F
Passing from the Mole you enter the city by an unfinished gateway,
near which Santa Anna lost his leg during the attack of the French in
1838. Beyond this portal is a large square, which will be surrounded
with custom-house buildings — though there is now scarce a symptom of
them except in the granite stones, most of which have been imported from
the United States. From this spot, a short walk to the left leads you to
the arcade of a street, and you soon find yourself in the public square of
the city, which, though small in its dimensions, is neat and substantial.
On the east, north, and west, it is bounded by noble ranges - of edifices,
built over light arches — the one to the eastward, with its back to the sea,
being the former Governor's residence, and still appropriated to the civil
and military purposes of the State. On the south of the square is the
parish church, with its walls blackened with sea-damps and zopilotes.
The streets of Vera Cruz, crossing each other at right angles, are well
paved with smooth pebbles, and the side-walks are covered with a cement
resembling Irescia. The houses, in general, are exceedingly well con
structed to suit the climate, and though not of very imposing architecture,
yet with their flat roofs, parti-colored awnings, and display of women and
flowers from their balconied windows, make the city both cool and pic
turesque. Upon the whole, I must confess that I have seen worse look
ing cities than Vera Cruz, even in the " picture-land " of Italy ; ' and when,
from the roofs of the dwellings, I look at the open sea in front, the exceed
ingly clean streets, and the desolate coast of sand and stunted shrubbery,
which extends north and south as far as the eye can reach, I am at a loss
to know why it is so cursed with disease. St. Augustine, St. Mary's, and
a hundred places along our southern sea-coast, have infinitely more the
appearance of nests for malaria.
It is said, that in the early period of the history of this country, Vera
Cruz was not so sickly as of late years, and that, although there were
occasional attacks of violent fever, it was not until 1699 that the Black
Vomit made its appearance. In that year an English vessel arrived in
the port with a cargo of slaves, and with them came this fatal disease.
The Spanish chronicles of the town, of that date, give the most fright-

VERA CRUZ. 5
ful pictures of its outbreak, and of the heroism with which the priests
(especially the Jesuits,) devoted themselves to the ill and dying ; and the
father Francisco Xavier Alegre dwells with pleasure on the self-sacrifice
with which his holy brethren met the fell monster and ministered to the
wants of the sufferers.

It was entirely too warm, even in this middle of November, to stir out
of the house with satisfaction. We therefore dressed ourselves in sum
mer apparel, and took an excellent dinner very quietly, resolved not to
expose our persons unnecessarily, as we understood there had been recent
cases of vomito. A number of gentlemen called to see us, and I found
•the Governor and other officers exceedingly anxious to afford us all the
protection in their power on the road to Mexico. They say that the coun
try has been lately scoured by troops of dragoons, but that it is still in
fested with robbers ; and, although we are to have a military escort, our
friends appear to intimate that Colt's revolving pistols, double-barrelled
guns, and a stock of resolution and coolness, will be our best safeguards.
We have, therefore, taken the stage which will depart four days hence ;
and as we are amply prepared with arms and ammunition, and a number
of determined passengers, I trust we shall reach the capital without having
our noses stamped in the ground after the most approved fashion of the
Ladrones. At sunset, a countryman was so good as to call for us to walk with
him to the Alameda. We sallied from the south gate, and took our way
into a desolate and melancholy country. On every side were marks of
solitude and misery. The ruins of houses and churches, filled with
weeds and creepers ; neglected 'fields, overgrown with aloes and made
still more sad by the long pensile branches of the solitary palm ; and, over
all lay the dark shadows of evening, as the last rays of the sun fell
aslant on the stagnant pools. A sergeant was drilling a few recruits to
the tap of the drum. The music seemed to be a dead march, and the
step of the soldiers was slow and solemn. Nothing could be more dreary
— more heart-sickening. We loitered on, like the rest of folks, but there
was no liveliness — no spirit. The people were not cheerful and joyous
as when abroad with us for an evening's promenade, but strolled along
in silent pairs, as if oppressed by the sadness of the melancholy wastes
on the one side, and the cold, dreary, illimitable sea on the other.
The appropriate termination of this walk through the ruined Alameda,
was the burying-ground. As we reached it, a funeral had just entered,
and in the chapel they were saying some annual service for the dead !
It may be wrong to indulge in such emotions, but here there really seems
to be an utter hopelessness in death. We love to think, that when it falls

6 MEXICO.
to our lot to share the common fate of humanity, we shall, at least, re
pose near our kindred and friends, in some beautiful spot, where those we
have loved shall moulder beside us, until the dust we cherished in life
shall be as blent as were the spirits that animated it. We love to think
that our graves will not be solitary or unvisited. But, on this dismal
shore, where the Shadow of Death for ever hangs over the prospect, the
grave is not a resting-place, even for tired spirits, and the soul seems to
perish as well as the body !

I came home with as capital a " fit of the blues" as ever was born in
London of a gloomy November day and a melancholy temper ; and I
must confess that I passed the night somewhat nervously. What with
the heat and exercise, our bodies were rather tired ; but what with the
vomito, the sad walk, and a little excitability, I do not remember to
have slept a wink. In addition to these annoyances, there was a con
tinual hubbub in the square under our windows all night long. First
of all, the guard was to be set, and that produced drumming, fifing,
braying of trumpets, and bustle of troops ; next, my bed was too short
for me ; then, just as I was coaxing myself into a doze, I discovered that
the servant had neglected to put down the net, and consequently, came
the onset of a colony of thirty mosquitos, ravenous for the fresh blood
of a foreigner, after having dulled their beaks a whole season on Mexi
can skins ; next, the clock on the opposite, tower struck every quarter,
and that was backed, with equal regularity, by the watchman under the
portales, who prefaced his song with an " Ave Maria Purissima" that
would have waked the dead. And thus from hour to hour I tossed and
tumbled, while the clock struck, the watchmen howled, and the mosqui
tos sucked — occasionally amusing myself by trying to feel some of the
symptoms of the vomito ! But day at length broke, and a cold bath and
a hearty breakfast perfectly reestablished me.
One of my fellow-travellers who was anxious to avoid the risk of wait
ing in Vera Cruz for the diligence, informed me about ten o'clock, that
he had made arrangements for a " litem" to carry him to Xalapa, there
to await the stage and rejoin our party. He was so good as to offer me
a part of his couch, which I eagerly accepted, and immediately set to
work packing my extra baggage for the Arrieros, as the diligence, and
the muleteers who accompany literas, will carry but a limited burden.
At four the litera arrived, but the muleteers would allow but one pas
senger ! There was nothing but submission. Pancho had his bundles
strapped on, stepped into his vehicle, or rather stretched, out on its bed,
lighted his cigar, tied on a Guayaquil sombrero, and waved us farewell.
A litera is an article of rather curious conveyance. Here is a draw
ing of it. The pencil sper.ka better to the mind than any description I

VERA CRUZ.

can give you of it. It would create a sensation in Broadway, and is de
cidedly more picturesque and comfortable than a cab or an omnibus.

LITERA.

I send you some interesting tables as to the health and commerce of
Vera Cruz, which I have compiled from accurate sources.
ACCOUNT OF THE BAPTISMS AND BURIALS IN VERA CRUZ FOR. 1841.

Males.

Fern.

Tot.

Total.
Baptisms
214
240
454|Marriages DEATHS.
37
Males.
Fern.
Tot.
Males.
Fem.
Tot.
In the Parroquia
215
271
486
Hospital of Loreto -
000
146
146
Hospital of St. Sebastian 254
000
254
Hosp. of S. Carlos
131
000
131
Total .
-
-
AGES.
600
417
1017
Males.
Fem.
Tot.
Males.
Fem.
Tot.
From 1 to 7
94
135
229
From 26 to 50
249
132
381
" 8 to 15
32
36
68
" 51 to 75
- 35
23
58
" 16 to 25
188
85
273
" 76 to 100
2
6
8
DISEASES.
Males,
Fem.
Tot.
Males.
Fem.
Tot.
Vomito -
120
35
155
Diabetis
1
0
1
Small Pox
64
78
142
Epilepsy
1
0
1
Fevers
98
44
142
Marasmus
0
1
1
Phthisis and Diarrhoea
151
61
212
Leprosy
0
1
1
Convulsions
39
11
50
Aneurism
0
2
2
Apoplexy
10
7
17
Abcess
3
1
4
Dysentery
7
22
29
Dropsy -
10
9
19
Cholic
3
7
10
Ulcers
4
0
4
Pulmonia
3
5
8
Flow of Blood -
0
2
2
Pleurisy
3
2
5
Child-birth
0
12
12
Asthma -
0
4
4
Drowned
1
0
1
Causas
1
2
3
Contusions
0
1
1
Gangrene
7
5
12
Wounds - - -
7
0
7
Inflammation
3
6
9
Diseases of children
. 63
99
162
Cholera (glacial)
1
0
1



Total
600
417
1017
8 MEXICO.
Thus, allowing the population of Vera Cruz to be about 6,500 (which
I consider quite liberal,) you will perceive that one-sixth of the whole
died in the course of the year ; of this, one-sixth— about an equal propor
tion—perished from vomito. The excess of burials over baptisms is 563.
Diarrhoea, dysentery and vomito are the most fatal maladies. In 1842,
I am told that near 2000 died of vomito in Vera Cruz. This, however,
was owing to the number of raw troops sent there from the interior, to be
embarked for Yucatan. It is to be regretted, that I have no data from
which I can inform you what is the relative proportion of the deaths
among natives and foreigners, and of those who visit Vera Cruz from the
interior. It has struck me, nevertheless, that this document will be inte
resting to medical readers.
It will be observed from the following table, that the amount of wa
ter which has fallen in each year, very far exceeds the quantity known
to fall annually in any part of the United States. With us it scarcely
exceeds four feet. It is not, however, difficult to account for the differ
ence. Vera Cruz, situated at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, backed
by a lofty range of mountains rising beyond the limits of perpetual con
gelation, must necessarily be the recipient of the immense body of water
held in solution by the hot intertropical air, and which is constantly car
ried along by the trade-winds, to be condensed against the cold moun
tains. This will sufficiently account for the fact ; although we were far
from being prepared to expect its nature and extent to be such as is here
stated. Feet. Inch.
In the year 1822 there fell, 13, 1.5 in the 12 months.
1823 15, 8.9
1824 10, 8.1
1825 10, 7.1 "
1826* 5, 4.4
1827 21, 2.8 10
1828 12, 2.0 12
1829 23, 2.3 "
1830 18, 0.0 "
* This year was remarkably dry ; and was moreover characterized by universally severe weather upon the
coast, and a great destruction of shipping property.

LETTER III.
THE RIDE TO XALAPA, AND THE ROBBERS WE MET ON THE ROAD.
During the last two days of our stay at Vera Cruz, it blew a Norther.
The wind was high, and made it impossible for ships to enter the port.
We spent the last afternoon at the water-gate of the city, watching the
waves as they spent their fury on the Mole, and the ships, anchored under
the lee of the Castle, tugging at their cables like impatient coursers strug
gling to get loose. With these fine adjuncts of marine scenery, and the
low brooding clouds of the stormy sky, I have never beheld a scene more
worthy of the pencil of our countryman, Birch.
After supper we made our final preparations for departure. Trunks
were strapped on the diligence, old and warmer clothing put on, and, at
midnight, nine of us got into the American Coach for our journey to the
Capital. The stories of numerous robberies, and the general insecurity of the
road, had been dinned into our ears ever since we arrived. Scarcely a
diligence came in that did not bring accounts of the levying of contribu
tions. Before we left the United States, many friends who had visited this
country, warned me of my danger, and advising me to prepare myself with
a couple of Colt's revolvers, hoped that I might reach the Capital in safety.
Now, for my own part, though not disposed to be rash on any occasion,
I always received these tales " cum grano." But I nevertheless took the
precaution to load my double-barrelled gun with large buckshot. S.
prepared his double-barrelled rifle and a Colt's pistol with four discharges.
J. took his Birmingham and horse-pistols. Another person had a pair of
pocket-irons, and ground an old fashioned dress sword to a very sharp point.
John, the servant, loaded a pistol and blunderbuss for the box ;. and thus,
harnessed and equipped, we sallied at midnight from the court-yard, as
resolved as any men who ever went on a feudal foray, to kill the first ill-
looking miscreant who poked a hostile nose in our coach windows . By way,
however, of making ourselves perfectly secure, and of passing the night
with additional comfort, I took care, as soon as we were seated, to point
my own weapon out of the window, and to see that my companions had
their arms in such positions that if they did "go off," there would be no
harm done, at least to the passengers.
It was very dark when we issued from the gates of the city, where our
passports were demanded. Accustomed, of late years, to the unmolested
travelling of our Union, I had put mine at the bottom of the trunk, and

10 MEXICO.
forgot all about the necessity of having it in my pocket. The drowsy
guard, however, took my word for the fact that I had one, and permitted
us to pass on.
A warm, drizzling rain was pattering down, driven in by the Norther
which was still raging and dashing the sea in long surges on the sandy
beach along which our road lay for several miles. We could see nothing ;
ihe way soon became almost impassable through the deep sand, though
our heavy coach was drawn by eight horses ; and proposing that the cur
tains should be let down, at least on my side, I was soon in a profound
sleep, nor did I awake until near sunrise, as we were passing the estate
of Santa Anna, at Manga de Clavo. His hacienda was in the distance,
to the right of the road, and appeared to be a long, low edifice, buried
among forests, but without those signs of improvement and cultivation
which make the property of our great landholders so picturesque. He
owns an immense body of land in this neighborhood, lying for leagues
along the road, but all seemed as barren and unattractive as the wild
ernesses of our far west.
During the night, an escort of three troopers had joined us at Bocche-
rone. At daylight I caught sight of them, for the first time, in their long
yellow cloaks, trotting along behind us on their small, but tough and
trusty horses. They were three as poor looking wretches as I ever saw :
one of them appeared to be just out of a fit of fever; the other a little the
worse for an extra cup of aguardiente ; and the third, as though he had
just recovered from a month's chattering of the ague.
The road thus far had been tolerably good, although much cut up by
the recent passage of baggage-wagons and trains of artillery. About
seven o'clock we halted at the village of Manantial for breakfast. It is
the usual stopping-place for the diligence, and we were of course immedi
ately supplied* with chocolate and biscuit. Our servitor was the Padrone's
wife ; and I could not help remarking her extreme beauty, and the mu
sical sweetness of her voice, as she attended at the counter of her hut.
Her Spanish was almost as liquid as Italian, and as soft as her eyes.
The houses in this part of Mexico are mostly built of split bamboos, set
upright in the ground, with a steep roof, thatched with palm-leaves, and
prepared of course, to admit freely the sun, wind and rain, which, during
the season, is sufficiently abundant. Upon the whole, they are very
respectable and picturesque chicken-coops.
Here our guard quitted us. It seems, notwithstanding the written
orders and promise I had from the commandant at Vera° Cruz for an
escort, that these fellows had received no directions to accompany us
and had only ridden thus far because they thought the new Minister of
Finance, Seiior Trigueros, was in the stage. But I can scarcely think
they were a loss. While my companions were finishing their lunch I
took occasion to examine their arms, not looking, however, at more than
one carbme, and that I found had lost the catch of its cock, which of
course always lay against the covering of the pan, pressing it open I

TO XALAPA. 11
mentioned this to the trooper, and asked him where he put the powder ?
" There, to be sure," said he, pointing to the pan. "And how do you fire
it ?" " Pshaw," replied the fellow, staggering off—" ' tis better so." He
was half drunk, and as ridiculous as his weapon. If these are the soldiers
of Mexico, they hardly rise to the dignity of respectable scare-crows.
We were soon called to coach, and mounting our vehicle with better
spirits for the refreshment and morning air, we shortly entered a rolling
country, with an occasional ruinous hamlet and plantation. Although
the scenery was in spots exceedingly romantic, interspersed with upland
and valley, and covered with a profusion of tropical trees and flowers,
there was over the whole that air of abandonment which could not fail to
strike one painfully. In a new country, as a traveller passes, by a soli
tary bridle-path, over the plains and hills, hidden by the primeval forests
fresh as they came from Nature's hand, there is matter for agreeable
reflection, in fancying what the virgin soil will produce in a few years
when visited by industry and taste. But here, Nature instead of being
pruned of her luxuriance with judicious care, has been literally sapped
and exhausted, and made old even in her youth, until she again begins to
renew her empire among ruins. It is true, that traces of old cultivation
are yet to be found, and also the remains of a former dense population.
The sides of the hills, in many places, as in Chili and Peru, are cut into
terraces ; but over those plains and terraces is spread a wil d growth of
mimosas, cactus, and acacias, while a thousand flowering parasite-plants
trail their gaudy blossoms among the aloes and shrubbery which fill up
the rents of time and neglect in the dilapidated buildings. It is the picture
of a beauty, prematurely old, tricked out in all the fanciful finery of
youth !
We wound along among these silent hills until about ten o'clock, when
a rapid descent brought us to the National Bridge, built by the old Span
ish Government, and enjoying then the sounding title of Puente del Rey.
Changed in name, it has not, however, changed in massive strength, or
beauty of surrounding scenery. Indeed, the neglect of cultivation, has
permitted Nature to regain her power ; and the features of the scenery are
therefore more like those of some of the romantic ravines of Italy, where
the remains of architecture and the luxuriant products of the soil are
blent in wild and romantic beauty.
The Puente Nacional spans the river Antigua, which passes over a
rocky bed in a deep dell of high and perpendicular rocks. The adjacent
heights of this mountain pass have been strongly fortified during the wars ;
among their fastnesses and defiles the revolutionary generals lay con
cealed in Iturbide's time, and finally descended from them to conclude
the fight in favor of independence.
At Puente, there is a village containing the usual number of comforta
ble cane huts, before which the neighboring Indians had spread out for
sale their fruits and wares ; while the Mexicans (as it was Sunday) were
amusing themselves by gambling at monU for clacos. At the inn a break-

12 MEXICO.
fast of eggs and frijoles was prepared for us. The eggs, the beans, the
bread, and a bottle of tolerable claret went down famously, with the sea
soning of our mountain appetites ; but I cannot say as much for the stew
of mutton and fish fresh from the river. What with onions, and lard, and
garlic, and chile peppers, I never tasted such a mess. We unanimously
resolved to leave it as a precious bonne bouche for some Spanish succes
sors, to whose bowels such a compound may be more savory than to North
Americans. Having dispatched this collation, we again mounted the diligence. I
had seen an officer in command of some cavalry at the door of our inn,
and recollecting that the succeeding post is represented to be one of the
most dangerous on the route, I told our Yankee driver that I thought he
might as well take my order for the escort, and a bundle of cigars, and
try their effect upon the military. Whether it was the order or the Prin
cipe's I am unable to say, but four dragoons were immediately mounted
for our service. If the odor of that offspring of the " Vuelta de Abajo"
still floats in the memory of the Lieutenant, and a well-supplied traveller
happens hereafter to pass the Puente Nacionel while he is in command,
let me suggest that a similar gift may be received as thankfully and ef
fectively. When our driver cracked his whip, and the horses sprang off
from the lassos of the grooms at full gallop, the " bold dragoon " stood
With cap in hand, and I could catch a glimpse of a head bowing most
gracefully in the midst of a cloud of fragrant smoke.
Our route Westward to Plan del Rio was through a mountainous coun
try of short and gradual ascents, in most of its characteristics resembling
the one we had passed over during our morning ride. At length, a steep
descent over a road as smooth as a bowling-green brought us to the village
of Plan. The guard trotted after us leisurely; the day had become
cloudy and the scenery dreary, and the fear of robbers among these soli
tary wildernesses again came over us. We felt, indeed, more anxiety
than since our departure.
Mine host at Plan del Rio received us warmly, though his house was as
cold and uninviting as the day. He speedily produced a smoking dinner
of fowls and rice, to which I found myself able to do but little justice.
But the dinner had been served — we had tasted it — a bottle of claret had
been drunk, and though our appetites had been frugal, the nine of us were
obliged to pay two dollars each for the service ! The two fowls which
made the stew, cost, at the most, a real each ; the rice as much, the salad
grew for the planting, and the claret stood our host about seventy-five cents
the bottle : so, for what, with service and cooking and original cost, taxed
our Padrone not more than three dollars at the extreme, he had the modest
assurance to charge our coach-load eighteen ! If this statement will induce
any of our enterprising Yankee boys, who are whittling sticks for want
of knowing how to turn an honest penny, to come out to Plan del Rio and
set up an " Opposition Stage-House," I wish them joy of their under
taking. It absolutely requires, as I have shown, no capital worth men-

TO XALAPA. 13
tionmg, besides a table, a dozen chairs, knives, plates and forks, a few
strings of Weathersfield onions, and flexibility of limbs and countenance
to grace the thousand shrugs, apologies, compliments, humbug and grim
aces necessary to make a successful innkeeper in a Spanish country.
At Plan our guard left us — as the lieutenant's command extended no
farther. Our host of the flexible face and productive cookery, insisted
that there was not much danger, besides which there were no troops on the
station ; so he bowed us to the coach door, and declared for the fiftieth
time that he had been delighted to see us, hoped we would not fail to call
again if we returned, and assured us that he only kept a few choice bottles
of his claret for such " caballeros " as we were !
What with sour wine, sour spirits, and imposition, I doubt much if there
was ever an angrier coach-load on any highway. We were effectually
ill-tempered, and we looked to our primings with the full disposition to
defend ourselves nobly. It would have fared ill with any one who had
ventured to attack us during our first hour's ride. In addition to this, our
road, as soon as it left the river, ascended rapidly and passed over a track
which would in any other country be called the bed of a mountain stream,
so rough and jagged was its surface. Although it is the duty of the Gov
ernment to keep this highway in order, yet as the chief travelling is on
horseback, and the principal part of merchandise is transported on mules,
no one cares how these animals get along. Sure-footed and slow, they
toil patiently among the rents and rocks, and their drivers are too well used
to the inconveniences to complain. Besides this, in case of insurrections,
it is better for the roads to be in bad condition, as it prevents easy com
munication between the several parts of Mexico, and the disjointed stones
serve to form, as they have often done, breastworks and forts for the insur
gents. But over this mass of ruin we were obliged to jolt in the ascent of the
mountain, during the whole afternoon, meeting in the course of it fifty
wagons laden with heavy machinery for factories near Mexico.
I must not forget to mention one redeeming spot in the gloomy even
ing. On looking back as we were near the summit of the mountain, I
caught a glimpse of the plains and hills over which we had been all day
toiling. The view was uninterrupted. Before us lay valley upon val
ley, in one long graceful descending sweep of woodland and meadow,
until they dwindled away in the sands to the east, and the whole was
blent, near the horizon, with the blue waves of the Gulf of Mexico. Just
then the sun broke out from the region of clouds which we were rapidly
approaching in our ascent, and gilding, for a moment, the whole lowland
prospect, I could almost fancy I saw the sparkle of the wave crests as
they broke on the distant and barren shore.
At the village on the mountain we could get no guard. This is said
to be a very dangerous pass ; but the commanding officer told us he had
been stationed here for two weeks, during which he had scoured the moun
tains in every direction, and believed his district to be free from robbers.

14 MEXICO.
Cigars would not avail us this time ! His men were tired and he could
give no escort.
Night soon fell dark and coldly around us. In these elevated regions
the air is cold and nipping ; but we dared not put down our coach cur
tains for fear of an attack. We therefore donned our cloaks and over-
coats, and laid our guns and pistols on the window-frames. John, the old
gray hero, was on the look-out, with his blunderbuss, from the box, and
the driver promised to have an eye to windward.
Thus we jolted on again, at times almost stalled, and, in sudden smooth
descents, swinging along with a rapidity in the dark and moonless night,
that seemed to threaten our destruction among the rocks. Six, seven,
eight, and half-past eight o'clock passed, and no robbers appeared, though
there had been several false alarms. The road became worse and worse,
the coach heaving over the stones like a ship in a head sea, and the dri
ver being obliged to descend from his seat and feel for the track. We
saw lights passing over the heath in many places, and it was surmised
they might be the signal lights of robbers. After due consultation, it
was determined that they were ! As we approached them they proved to
be fire-flies ! We felt for our percussion-caps and found them all right,
and, at that moment, the coach was brought to a dead halt in the blackest
looking ravine imaginable.
" A mighty bad road, sir," said John, from the box, cocking his blun
derbuss. Its click was ominous, and we were at once on the alert.
" There is something black — on horseback — just ahead of us," added he.
A whistle among the bushes. Crack went the whip unmercifully over
the mules, and at ten paces in advance, up rose " the something black,"
and away trotted three cows !
I confess to a little anxiety as I cocked my gun after John spoke of
the " something Hack." It is enough to make one a little nervous, boxed
up with nine in a coach, on a dark night, on a bad road, to be shot at by
" something black." But when the danger turns out to be a peaceful cow,
one feels quite as ridiculous as he had before felt nervous. As we had
indulged in enough of that sort of excitement, I uncocked my gun, put
the muzzle out of the window, and, keeping a finger on the trigger, re
signed myself to a nap in the corner.
Jolts, pitches, tosses, nothing, woke me, until a rough voice bellowed
in my ear : " There they are !" I was aroused in a moment, and moving
my thumb to cock my gun, I found myself disarmed. The coach was
at a halt, and strange voices and lights were around it.
It was a minute before I could shake off the oppression of my deep
slumber and found that my neighbor had quietly pilfered my gun during
my sleep, and that we were waiting while the guard at the garita of Xa
lapa examined our way-bill !
In a few moments we were again en route, and at half-past nine rolled into
the court-yard of an excellent inn at Xalapa, where a good meal that served
both for dinner and supper, seasoned the joke of my dextrous robbery.

LETTER IV.

XALAPA AND PEROTE.

When the Neapolitans speak to you of their beautiful city, they call
it, " a piece of heaven fallen to earth ;"* and tell you to " see Naples
and die /"
It is only because so few travellers extend their journey to Xalapa and
describe its scenery, that it has not received something of the same ex
travagant eulogium. I regret exceedingly that my stay was so limited
as not to allow an opportunity of beholding the beautiful views around
the city, under the influence of a serene sky and brilliant sun.
The town has about ten thousand inhabitants, and is, in every respect,
the reverse of Vera Cruz ; high, healthy, and built on almost precipitous
streets, winding, with curious crookedness, up the steep hill-sides. This
perching and bird-like architecture makes a city picturesque — although
its highways may be toilsome to those who are not always in search of
the romantic.
The houses of Xalapa are not so lofty as those of Vera Cruz, and their
exteriors are much plainer ; but the inside of the dwellings, I am told, is
furnished and decorated in the most tasteful manner. The hotel in which
we lodged was an evidence of this ; its walls and ceilings were papered
and painted in a style of splendor rarely seen out of Paris.
Before breakfast we strolled to the Convent of St. Francisco, an im
mense pile of buildings of massive masonry, and apparently bomb-proof.
The church is exceedingly plain, but there is a neat and tasteful garden
with a lofty wall. This convent also possesses a court-yard of about one
hundred feet square, with an arcade of two stories, the upper part of
which contains a series of spacious cells ; but the whole edifice has a
ruined appearance, having once been converted into a cavalry barrack,
where the bugle as often sounded the morning call as the bell summoned
to matins.
From the top of this conventual edifice there is a fine view of Xalapa
and its vicinity. We could see the town straggling up its steep and
irregular streets ; but much of the adjacent scenery, and especially those
two grand objects in the descriptions of all travellers, the Peak of Ori
zaba and the Coffre of Perote, were entirely obscured by a cloud of
mist which hung around the valley in a silvery ring, inclosing the ver-
* " Un pmjo de cido caduto in terra."

16 MEXICO.
dure of the glade like an emerald. The vapor, rising from the sea,
driven inland by the northern winds, here first strikes the mountains ; and,
lodging in rain and mist and dew among the cliffs, preserves that peren
nial green which covers this teeming region with constant freshness and
luxuriance. Xalapa is consequently a " damp town," yet it enjoys a
great reputation for its salubrity. It is now the best season of the year ;
but scarcely a day passes without rain, while the thermometer ranges
from 52° to 76°, according to the state of the clouds and winds. As
soon as the mountains have discharged their vapors, the sun blazes forth
with a fierceness and intensity, increased by the reflection from every
hill, into the town, as to a focus.
Yet I saw enough to justify all the praises even of extravagant admirers.
Its society is said to be excellent, and its women are the theme of the
poets throughout the republic. As I descended from the top of St. Fran
cisco and wended my way to the hotel, I met numbers of the fair donzellas
lounging homeward from early mass. The stately step, the liquid eye,
the pale yet brilliant cheek, and an indescribable look of tenderness, com
plete a picture of beauty rarely matched in northern climes, and else
where unequalled in Mexico.
After dispatching our breakfast, for which we paid (together with our
night's lodging and dinner) the sum oi four dollars, we mounted the dili
gence at 10 o'clock, prepared as usual for the robbers, and set out for
Perote. In driving from the town we passed through the public square ; and in
the market which is held there I first saw in perfection the profuse quan
tity of tropical fruits (and especially the chirimoya, and granadita,) for which
Xalapa is renowned. The market is supplied by the numerous small
cultivators from the neighborhood, the females of whom bear a resem
blance to our Northern Indians, which is perhaps even stranger and more
remarkable than that of the men.
Maiz, the great staff of life for biped and quadruped in our western
world, is chiefly used in the tortillia cakes of which we hear so much from
Mexican travellers.
The sellers of these tough, buckskin victuals, sit in lines along the curb
of the side-walks with their fresh cakes in baskets covered with clean
napkins to preserve their warmth. • There they wait patiently for pur
chasers ; and as tortillias, with a little chiU, or, red pepper boiled in lard,
are indispensable at least twice a day for the mass of the people, they are
quite sure of a ready sale.
With the great mass of Mexicans there is no such thing as domestic
cookery. The laborer sallies forth with his clacos in his pocket, and two
or three of them will purchase his cakes from an Indian woman. A few
steps further on, another Indian woman has a pan boiling over a portable
furnace, and containing the required beans or chile. The hungry man
squats down beside the seller— makes a breakfast or dinner table of his
knees— holds out his tortillia spread flat on his hand for a ladle of chile"

MEXICO.

17

MAKING TORTILLIAS.

and a lump of meat — then doubles up the edges of the cake sandwich
fashion, and so on until his appetite is satisfied. He who is better off in
the world, or indulges occasionally in a little extravagance, owns a clay
platter. Into this he causes his frijoles, or chile and meat, to be thrown,
and making a spoon of his tortillia, gradually gets possession of his food,
and terminates his repast by eating the spoon itself! There is great
economy in this mode of housekeeping which recommends itself, espe
cially, to the tastes of old bachelors. There are no dishes to be washed
—no silver to be cleaned, or cared for. Your Indian — flings down his
clacos — stretches himself to his full height — gives a valedictory grunt of
satisfaction over a filled stomach — and is off to his labor.
Thus wonderful is the frugality not only of the humbler classes, but,
indeed, of almost all who have come under my observation in Spanish
America. Whether this frugality is a virtue, or the result of indolence,
it is not necessary for me to stop to inquire. The reader may draw his
own conclusions. But all classes are content with less physical comfort
than the inhabitants of other countries. Their diet is poor, their lodging
miserable, their clothing coarse, inelegant and inadequate for the climate ;
and yet, when the energies and intelligence of the very people who seem
so supine are called into action, few men manifest those qualities in a
higher degree. Let me, as an illustration, notice the Arrieros, or com
mon carriers of the country, by whom almost all the transportation of the
2

18 MEXICO.
most valuable merchandise and precious metals is conducted. They
form a very large proportion of the population, yet, by no similar class
elsewhere are they exceeded in devoted honesty, punctuality, patient
endurance, and skillful execution of duty. Nor is this the less remarka-
ble when we recollect the country through which they travel— its disturbed
state— and the opportunities consequently afforded for transgression. I
have never been more struck with the folly of judging of men by mere
dress and physiognomy, than in looking at the Arrieros. A man with
wild and fierce eyes, tangled hair, slashed trowsers, and well greased
jerkin that has breasted many a storm — a person, in fact, to whom you
would scarcely trust an old coat when sending it to your tailor for
repairs — is frequently in Mexico, the guardian of the fortunes of the
wealthiest men for months, on toilsome journies among the mountains and
defiles of the inner land. He has a multitude of dangers and difficulties
to contend with. He overcomes them all — is never robbed and never
robs — and, at the appointed day, comes to your door with a respectful
salutation, and tells you that your wares or monies have passed the city
gates. Yet this person is often poor, bondless and unsecured — with noth
ing but his fair name and unbroken word. When you ask him if you
may rely on his people, he will return your look with a surprised glance,
and striking his breast, and nodding his head with a proud contempt that
his honor should be questioned, exclaim : " Soy Jose Maria, Sefior, por
veinte annos Arriero de Mexico — todo el mundo me conosce /"
" I am Jos6 Maria, sir, I 'd have you know — an Arriero of Mexico for
twenty years — all the world knows me .'"
I regret, that I have been able to give only the faintest pencilling
outline of Jalapa, which, with all its beauty, has doubtless hitherto been
associated most nauseously in your mind with the drug growing in the
neighborhood to which it has given its name.*
A beautiful scene, embracing nearly the whole of this little Eden,
broke on me as we gained the summit of the last hill above the town. A
dell, deep, precipitous, and green as if mossed from the margin of a wood
land spring lay below me, hung on every side with orange trees in bloom
and bearing, nodding palms and roses and acacias scenting the air with
their fragrance, and peering out among the white walls of dwellings, con
vents, and steeples. In the next quarter of an hour, the mists that had
been gathering around the mountains, whirled down on the peaks along
which we were travelling, and as the wind occasionally drifted the vapor
away, we could see around us nothing "but wild plains and mountain
spurs covered with volcanic debris, flung into a thousand fantastic forms,
among which grew a hardy race of melancholy-looking pines, interspersed
*To give you an idea of the profusion of fruit in Jalapa 1 will state a fact. I gave a French servant a red
(twelve and a half cents) to purchase me a few oranges, and in a short time he returned with a handkerchief
bursting under the load— he had received forty for the money.
I told the story to a Jalapenian with surprise : " They cheated him," said he ; " they should have given him
nearly double the number."

ARRIEROS,

PLAIN OF PEROTE. 19
with fallen trunks, aloes and agaves. Thus the road gradually as
cended among desolation, until we reached a height where the clouds
were lodged on the mountain tops, and a cold, drizzling rain filled the air.
In this disagreeable manner, travelling among the clouds, we reached
the village of St. Michel, and afterward La Hoya, over a road paved
with basalt. From the latter place the scenery is described as magnifi
cent when the day is clear, and the sun is out in its brilliancy. The
vapor is said to be then spread out below you like a sea, and the moun
tain tops and little eminences peer above it like so many islands.
We passed through the village of " Las Vigas," described by Humboldt,
as the highest point on the road to Mexico. The houses in this neighbor
hood are of different construction from those below the mountains, and
are built of pine logs, each tree furnishing but one piece of timber of four
inches thickness, and the whole width of its diameter ; these are hewn
with the axe, and closely fitted. The floors of the dwellings are laid with
the same material, and the roofs are shingled. As the houses indicate a
colder climate than the one through which we have recently travelled, so
does also the appearance of the people, who are hardier and more robust
than the inhabitants of the plains skirting the sea.
After winding along the edge of the mountain for some hours, we ob
tained an occasional view of the plain of Perote. level as the ocean, and
bounded by the distant mountains. The Peak of Orizaba again appeared
in the southeast, while the Coffre of Perote towered immediately on our left,
and, seemingly in the midst of the plain, rose the Peak of Tepiacualca.
Beyond it, on the remotest horizon, was sketched the outline of the snow
capped mountains. All these plains have doubtless been the basins of
former lakes ; but they now appear dry and arid, and it is not easy to
distinguish how far they are cultivated at the suitable season. During
the summer, they present a very different prospect, and, losing the guise
of a waste moor, only fit for the sportsman, put on a lively livery of cul
tivation and improvement, far more agreeable than the dark and thorny
maguey and the wilted foliage of dwarfish trees, with which they are now
mostly covered. We occasionally see the stubble of last year, but the
chief agriculture is evidently carried on upon the slopes and rising ground,
where the irrigation is more easy from the adjacent mountains and is not
so rapidly absorbed as in the marshy flats.
We had not travelled this road without our usual dread of thieves.
Our guns were constantly prepared for attack, and we kept a wary watch,
although during nearly the whole day we were accompanied by a party
of lancers, who clattered along after us on nimble horses. Some leagues
from Perote we approached the " Barranca Secca," a noted haunt of the
ladrones ; and as we came within gunshot of the place, a band of horse
men dashed out from the ruins of an old hacienda on our right and gal
loped directly to the carriage. The mist had again come down in heavy
wreaths around us, obscuring the prospect at a dozen yards distance;
and the guard of troopers had fallen considerably in the rear. What
2*

20 MEXICO.
with the fog and the dread of our foes, we were somewhat startled—
cocked our weapons — ordered the coach to stop — and were half out of it,
when the lancers reined up at full tilt, and after a parley with the new
comers, assured us that they were only an additional troop kept here for
security. I questioned, and still doubt the truth of this story, as I never
saw a more uncouth, or better mounted, armed and equipped set of men.
Their pistols, sabres, and carbines were in the best order, and their horses
stanch and fleet ; but they may have composed a band of old well-known
robbers, pensioned off by the Government as a guard ; and willing to take
regular pay from the authorities, and gratuities from travellers, as less
dangerous than uncertain booty with constant risk of life.
Accompanied by these six suspicious rascals and the four lancers, we
quickly passed the wild mist-covered moor, and entered the Barranca, a
deep fissure worn by time and water into the plain, and overhung, on all
sides by lofty trees, while the adjacent parts of the flat country are cut
up into similar ravines, embowered with foliage. With all the aids of
art, the thieves could not have constructed a more suitable covert ; and,
to add to our dismay, soon after entering the Barranca, our coach broke
down !
- We tramped about in the mud while the accident was repairing, and
the guard and its auxiliaries scoured the pass. The quarter of a mile
through which the ravine. extended was literally lined with crosses, mark
ing the spot of some murder or violent death. These four or five hundred
mementos mori, seemed to convert it into a perfect graveyard ; while the
broken coach, the dreary day, shrouding mist, approaching night, and
savage figures in the scene, made a picture more fit for a Trappist than
a quiet traveller fonder of his ease than adventure.
We were, however, soon again in our vehicle, and for an hour after
ward the country gradually ascended, until, at sunset, the sky cleared off
and we entered Perote by a brilliant starlight.
Perote is a small town, containing not more than 2500 people. It is
irregularly built ; the houses are only of one low and dark story, erected
around large court-yards with the strength of castles. In the middle of
the town there is a large square, abundantly supplied by fountains of pure.
water from the neighboring hills.
The Meson is at the further end of the town, and incloses a spacious
court-yard, around which on the ground floor (which is the only floor) are
a number of brick-paved, windowless stalls, furnished with a bed, a couple
of chairs, and a table. No landlord made his appearance to welcome
us. We waited a considerable time in the court-yard for his attendance ;
but as we received no invitation, S  and myself got possession of a
consumptive-looking candle, and sallied out to hunt for lodgings. We
took possession of one of the dens I have described and sent in our lug
gage ; and carefully locking the door afterward, (as Perote is the head
quarters of villainy, and the court-yard was full of unshaved, ill-looking
devils wrapped up in blankets,) we left our thin tallow as evidence of our
tenure.

PEROTE. 21
On one side of the gateway is the fonda, or eating part of the establish
ment, where two or three women were employed cooking sundry* strange
looking messes. We signified our hunger, and were soon called to table.
Several officers of the garrison, as well as the stage-load coming from
Mexico, were there before us. The cooking had been done with char
coal, over furnaces, and the color of the cooks, their clothes, the food,
and the hearth was identical ; a warning, as in France, never to enter the
kitchen before meals. The meats had been good, but were perfectly be
devilled by the culinary imps. Garlic, onions, grease, chile, and God
knows what of other nasty compounds, had flavored the food like nothing
else in the world but Perote cookery. We tasted, however, of every dish,
and that taste answered to allay appetite if not to assuage hunger ; espe
cially as the table-cloth had served many a wayfarer since its last wash
ing, (if it had ever been washed,) and had, besides, doubtless been used
for duster, (if they ever dust.) The waiter, too, was a boy, in sooty rags,
who hardly knew the meaning of a plate, and had never heard of other
forks but his fingers.
Disgusted, as you may well suppose we were with this supper, I did
not remain long at table. We were a set of baulked, hungry men, and
withal, tired and peevish. I put my face for a moment outside of the gate,
to take a walk, as the night was beautiful ; but S  pulled me back
again, with a hint at the notorious reputation of Perote. It was not
eight o'clock, but the town was already still as death. Its population had
slunk home to their cheerless dwellings, and the streets were as deserted
as those of Pompeii, save where a ragged rascal now and then skulked
along in the shadow of the houses, buried up in his broad-brimmed som
brero and dirty blanket.
We therefore at once retired to our cells ; I threw myself on the bed
wrapped in my cloak, in dread of a vigorous attack from the fleas, and
slept without moving until the driver called us at midnight to start for
Puebla. Being already dressed, I required no time for my toilet, and I
doubt much if hair-brushes, orris tooth-powder, or the sweet savors of the
Rue Vivienne, were ever thought of by a parting guest at Perote !
In half an hour we were once more in the coach galloping out of the
town, followed by three dragoons furnished by the officer we had met at
supper, who seemed to entertain as poor an opinion as we did of this
citadel of vagabondism.
Although the sky had been clear and the stars were shining brightly
when we retired to bed, a mist was now hanging in low clouds over the
plain. The road was, however, smooth and level ; and we scampered
along nimbly, fear adding stings to our coachman's lash, inasmuch as he
was the driver of a diligence that had been robbed last spring, and had
received a ball between his shoulders, from the effects of which he had
just sufficiently recovered to drive on his first trip since the conflict.
We galloped during the whole night, stopping only for a moment to change
horses ; nor did we meet a living thing except a pack of jackals, that

22 MEXICO.
came bounding beside the coach along the level and almost trackless
plain. I never saw half so frightened a man as our coachman, especially
when we passed the spot where he had been wounded. Every shrub was
a robber — and a maguey of decent size was a whole troop !
The early morning, from the rain which had fallen during the night
on this portion of the plain, was as cold and raw as November at home ;
nor was it until an hour after sunrise that the mists peeled off from the
lowlands, and, folding themselves around the distant hills, revealed a
prospect as bare and dreary as the Campagna of Rome.

LETTER V.

CITY OF PUEBLA.

I shall say nothing more of our journey from Perote to Puebla, or of
the several uninteresting villages through which we passed. The road
led among deep gullies, and was exceedingly dusty on the plains. The
towns were usually built of the common adobes, or sun-dried bricks of
the country,- and neither in their architectural appearance, nor in the
character of their inhabitants, offered any attractions for the attention of
a traveller. It was, indeed, a tedious and uninteresting drive over the
solitary moors, and I have seldom been more gratified at the termination of
a day's fatigue than I was when we entered the gateway of our spacious
and comfortable inn at Puebla. In addition to the usual discomforts of
the road, we had suffered greatly from the heat during the two or three
last hours of our ride, and were annoyed by a fine dust, which, heated
by a blazing sun, rolled into our coach from every side, and fell like
a parching powder on our skins. A bath was, therefore, indispensable
before the dinner, which we found excellent after our fare of the
previous night at Perote. In the afternoon I paid a visit to the governor,
who promised an escort of dragoons for the rest of the journey to the
Capital ; and I then sallied forth, to see as much as possible of this really
beautiful city.
My recollections of Puebla (comparing it now with Mexico) are
far more agreeable than those of the Capital. There is an air of neat
ness and tidiness observable everywhere. The streets are broad, well
paved with flat stones, and have a washed and cleanly look. The
crowd of people is far less than in the Capital, and they are not so ragged
and miserable. House rents are one-half or one-third those of Mexico,
and the dwellings are usually inhabited by one family ; but, churches
and convents seem rather more plentiful in proportion to the inhabitants.
The friars are less numerous, and the secular clergy greater.
A small stream skirts the eastern side of Puebla, affording a large
water-power for manufacturing purposes. On its banks a public walk
has been planted with rows of trees, among which the paths meander,
while a neat fountain throws up its waters in the midst of them. The
views from this retreat, in the evening, are charmingly picturesque over
the eastern plain.
On the western side of Puebla lie the extensive piles of buildings
belonging to the Convent of St. Francis, situated opposite the entrance of

24 MEXICO.
the Alameda — a quiet and retired garden walk to which the cavaliers and
donzellas repair before sunset, for a drive in view of the volcanos of Ista-
zihuatl and Popocatepetl, which bound the westward prospect with their
tops of eternal snow. Near the centre of the city is the great square.
It is surrounded on two sides by edifices erected on arches through which
the population circulates as at Bologna. On the northern- side is the
Palace of the Governor, now filled with troops ; and directly in front of this
is the Cathedral, equal perhaps in size to that of Mexico, but, being eleva
ted upon a platform about ten feet above the level of the square, it is better
relieved and stands out from the surrounding buildings with more bold
ness and grandeur.
This church is, in all its details and arrangements the most magnifi.
cent in the Republic ; and although not desirous to occupy your time with
a description of religious edifices, yet, with a view of affording some idea
of the wealth of this important establishment in a country where the priest
hood is still very powerful, I will venture to remark on a few of those ob
jects that strike the eye of a transient traveller.
It is about this Cathedral, I am told, that there is a legend of Puebla,
which states that while in process of building, it gained mysteriously in
height during the night as much as the masons had wrought during the
day. This was said to be the work of Angels, and hence, the city has ac
quired the holy name of "Puebla de los Angeles." Be this, however, as
it may, the church, though neither exactly worthy of divine conception
and execution, nor a miracle of art, is extremely tasteful, and one of the
best specimens of architecture I saw in Mexico. The material is blue
basalt ; the stones are squared by the chisel ; the joints neatly pointed ;
and the whole has the appearance of great solidity, being supported by
massive buttresses, and terminated at the west by lofty towers filled with
bells of sweet and varied tones. Between the towers is the main entrance,
over which there is a mass of sculpture of Scripture history in stone and
moulded work.
Entering by this portal, the edifice, though lofty and extensive, has its
effect greatly marred by the erections over the crypt, altar and choir,
which fill the building to near its arched and elevated ceiling. As usual,
the church is divided into three parts by rows of massive columns. Out
side of these, under lower arches, are the side aisles, and in the wall the
lesser chapels are imbedded, as it were, between columns, and screened
from ;the main edifice by a graceful railing and fanciful gates of wrought
iron. A similar rail also incloses the choir and other portions of the build
ing ; and the whole, painted green, is picked out with gilded ornaments.
From the centre of the vast dome depends the great chandelier — a
weighty mass of gold and silver. It weighs tons. The sum at which it is
valued I will not mention; but you may judge of its extent and price
from the fact that, when cleaned thoroughly some years ago, the cost of
its purification alone amounted to four thousand dollars !
The great altar, too, is a striking object. It was erected about thirty
years ago by one of th -,— -..• - ¦

THE CATHEDRAL. 25
of Mexican marbles in the Republic. The variety of colors is very great,
among which is one of a pure and brilliant white, as transparent as ala
baster. The rail and steps, which, of course, are of fine marble, lead to
a circular platform eight or ten feet above the floor, beneath which is the
sepulchre of the bishops, (constructed entirely of the most precious mate
rials,) divided into niches and panels, and covered with a depressed dome
of marble, relieved by bronze and gold circles, from the centre of which
depends a silver lamp, for ever burning in the habitation of the dead.
To the right of the altar is the gem of the building. It is a figure of
the Virgin Mary, nigh the size of life. Dressed in the richest embroi
dered satin, she displays strings of the largest pearls hanging from her
neck below her knees. Around her brow is clasped a crown of gold,
inlaid with emeralds of a size I had never seen before ; and her waist is
bound with a zone of diamonds, from the centre of which blaze num
bers of enormous brilliants !
But this is not all. The candelabras surrounding the platform before
the altar, are of silver and gold, and so ponderous that a strong man could
neither move nor lift them. Immediately above the altar, and within the
columns of the large temple erected there, is a smaller one, the interior
of which is displayed or concealed by secret machinery. From this the
Host, amid a blaze of priceless and innumerable jewels, is exhibited to
the kneeling multitude.
The principal dome is, of course, in the centre of the church ; and oppo
site the front of the altar is the choir, remarkable, principally, for the
workmanship and preservation of the richly carved woodwork of its
stalls for the canons and clergy. Above the seat of the bishop is a pic
ture of St. Peter, formed by the inlaying of different woods ; yet so skil
fully is this work of art executed, that at a short distance it has all the
effect and gracefulness of a painting in oil. It is to be regretted that the
organ is rather too small for so large a building, and that the rich tone
of the noble instrument is therefore greatly lost in the services of a church
where the effect of the Catholic rite, amid so many other magnificent
adjuncts, would be greatly enhanced in pomp by the perfection of solemn
music. It was too obscure to see the pictures which are said to be worthy of
notice, or the three setts of valuable jewels of the bishop; and we there
fore departed at dusk from this mine of wealth and splendor.
As I went out of the door in the dim twilight, and found a miserable
and ragged woman kneeling before the image of a saint, and heard the
hollow sounding of her breast as she beat it with penitential fervor ; I could
not help asking myself, if the church that subsisted upon alms, in order to
be the greatest almoner of the nation, had fulfilled its sacred charge while
there was one diamond in the zone of the Virgin, or one homeless and
foodless wretch in the whole Republic.

LETTER VI.

THE PYRAMID OF CHOLULA.

Three leagues westwardly from the city of Puebla lie the remains of
the ancient Indian Pyramid of Cholula, and you reach them by a pleas
ant morning ride over the plain.
This is one of the most remarkable relics of the Aborigines on the Con
tinent ; for, although it was constructed only of the adobes, or common
sun-dried bricks, it still remains in sufficient distinctness to strike every
observer with wonder at the enterprise of its Indian builders. What it
was intended for, whether tomb or temple, no one has determined with
certainty, though the wisest antiquarians have been guessing since the
conquest. In the midst of a plain the Indians erected a mountain. The
base still remains to give us its dimensions ; but what was its original
height ? Was it the tomb of some mighty lord, or sovereign prince ; or
was it alone a place of sacrifice ?
Many years ago, in cutting a new road toward Puebla from Mexico, it
became necessary to cross a portion of the base of this pyramid. The
excavation laid bare a square chamber, built of stone, the roof of which
was sustained by cypress beams. In it were found some idols of basalt,
a number of painted vases, and the remains of two bodies. No care was
taken of these relics by the discoverers, and they are lost to us for ever.
Approaching the pyramid from the east, it appears so broken and
overgrown with trees that it is difficult to make out any outline distinctly.
The view from the west, however, which I have given on the opposite
page, will convey to you some idea of this massive monument as it rises
in solitary grandeur from the midst of the wide-spreading plain. A well-
paved road, cut by the old Spaniards, ascends from the northwest corner,
with steps at regular intervals, obliquing first on the west side to the upper
bench of the terrace, and thence returning toward the same side until it
is met by a steep flight rising to the front of the small, dome-crowned
chapel, surrounded with its grove of cypress, and dedicated to the Virgin
of Remedios.
The summit is perfectly level and protected by a parapet wall, whence
a magnificent view extends on every side over the level valley. What
ever this edifice may have been, the idea of thus attaining permanently
an elevation to which the people might resort for prayer— or even for
parade or amusement— was a sublime conception, and entitles the men
who centuries ago patiently erected the lofty pyramid, to the respect of

vw *iSff J II [ 'T; J1

PYRAMID OF CHOLULA. 27
posterity. If his ancestor celebrated, here, a bloody sacrifice of victims
taken in battle, the modern Indian may purify the hill from the crime by
the celebration of a peaceful mass, and the sermon of a worthy padre"!
There remain at present but four stories of the Pyramid of Cholula.,
rising above each other and connected by terraces. These stories are
formed, as I before said, of sun-dried bricks, interspersed with occasional
layers of plaster and stone work. And this is all that is to be told or
described. Old as it is — interesting as it is — examined as it has been by
antiquaries of all countries — the result has ever been the same. The
Indians tell you that it was a place of sepulture, and the Mexicans give
you the universal reply of ignorance in this country : " Quien Sabe ?" —
who knows — who can tell !
To those who are interested particularly in Mexican antiquities since
the recent publications of Mr. Stephens, and the beautiful drawings of
Mr. Catherwood, have greatly familiarized almost all classes with the
monuments of ancient American grandeur, I will translate some of the
descriptive remarks of the Baron Humboldt, who visited these ruins near
the beginning of our century.
" The Pyramid of Cholula," says he, " is exactly of the same height
as that of Tonatiuh Ytxaqual, at Teotihuacan," (which I shall describe
hereafter.) " It is 3 mhtres higher than that of Mycerinus, or the third
of the great Egyptian pyramids of the group of Djizeh. Its base, how
ever, is larger than that of any pyramid hitherto discovered by travellers
in the old world, and is double of that known as ihe Pyramid of Cheops.
" Those who wish to form an idea of the immense mass of this Mexican
monument by the comparison of objects best known to them, may imagine
a square, four times greater than that of ihe Place Vendome in Paris, cov
ered with layers of bricks rising to twice ihe elevation of the Louvre ! Some
persons imagine that the whole of the edifice is not artificial ; but as far
as explorations have been made, there is no reason to doubt that it is en
tirely a work of art. In its present state (and we are ignorant of its per-
feet original height,) its perpendicular proportion is to its base as 8 to 1,
while in the three great pyramids of Djizeh, the proportion is found to be
Its to lyV to 1 ; or, nearly, as 8 to 5."
May not this have been but the base of some mighty temple destroyed
long before the conquest, and of which even the tradition no longer lin
gers among the neighboring Indians !
In order to afford you additional means of comparison, I annex the fol
lowing table, also from Humboldt, of the relative proportions of several
well known pyramids.
The feet are pieds du roi :
PYRAMIDS BUILT OF STONE. PYRAMIDS OF BRICK.

Cheops.

Cephren.

Mycerinus.

Height

448 feet.

398 feet.

162 feet

Base.

723

655

580

1 of 5 stories in Egypt ,— of 4 stories in Mexico—*
near Sakhaiah. Teotihuacan. Cholula.
150 feet. 171 feet. 172 f.
210 645 1355

28 ' MEXICO,
In continuation, Humboldt observes, that " the inhabitants of Auahuac
apparently designed giving the Pyramid of Cholula the same height, and
double the base of the Pyramid at Teotihuacan, and that the Pyramid of
Asychis, the largest known of the Egyptians, has a base of 800 feet, and
is like that of Cholula, built of brick. The cathedral of Strasburgis 8
feet, and the cross of St. Peters, at Rome, 41 feet, lower than the top of
the Pyramid of Cheops. Pyramids exist throughout Mexico ; In the for
ests of Papantla at a short distance a,bove the level of the sea ; on the
plains of Cholula and of Teotihuacan, at the elevations which exceed
those of the passes of the Alps. In the most widely distant nations, in
climates the most different, man seems to have adopted the same style of
construction ; the same ornaments, the same customs ; and to have placed
himself under the government of the same political institutions !"
Is this an argument that all men have sprung only from one stock ? or
that the human mind is the same everywhere, and, affected by similar
interests or necessities invariably comes to the same result, whether in
pointing a pyramid, or an arrow ; in making a law, or a ladle ?
Much as I distrust all the dark and groping efforts of antiquarians, I.
will nevertheless offer you some sketches and legends, which may serve,
at least, to base a conjecture upon as to the divinity to whom this pyra
mid was erected ; and to prove, perhaps, that it was intended as the
foundation of a temple, and not the covering of a tomb.
A tradition which has been recorded by a Dominican monk who visited
Cholula in 1566, is thus related from his work, by the traveller to whom
I have already referred :
" Before the great inundation, which took place 4800 years after the
creation of the world, the country of Auahuac was inhabited by giants,
all of whom either perished in the inundation, or were transformed into '
fishes, save seven who fled into caverns.
" When the waters subsided, one of the giants, called Xelhua, surnamed
" the Architect," went to Cholula, where, as a memorial of the Tlaloc*
which had served for an asylum to himself and his six brethren, he built
an artificial hill in the form of a pyramid. He ordered bricks to be made
in the province of Tlalmanalco, at the foot of the Sierra of Cocotl, and in
order to convey them to Cholula, he placed a file of men who passed them
from hand to hand. The gods beheld, with wrath, an edifice the top
of which was to reach the clouds. Irritated at the daring attempt of
Xelhua, they hurled fire on the pyramid I Numbers of the workmen
perished. The work was discontinued, and the monument was after
ward dedicated to Quetzalcoatl."
* The mountain of Tlaloc lies in a westerly direction from the Pyramid of Cholula, about thirty miles. It was
visited lost year, and ascended with much difficulty by Mr. Ward and Mr. Jamieson, who found, upon the
very summit, the remains of extensive walls, the sides of which were due north and south. The day was ex
ceedingly cold, and. suffering from the keen mountain air, they were unable to extend their explorations, espe
cially ns they were not prepared either with the necessary tools, or to spend some time on the summit They
dug, however, with the blades of their swords among the ruins, and found a number of small images and heads
of clay, similar to those which will be hereafter described.

CHOLULAN MYTHOLOGY. 29
Now of this god Quetzalcoatl, we have the following story, which is
given by Dr. M'Culloh, the most learned and laborious of writers upon
American antiquities.
" Quetzalcoatl, or the ' Feathered Serpent,' was among the Mexi
cans, and all other nations of Auahuac, 'god of the air.' He was
said to have been once high priest of Tula. They figured him tall, huge,
of a fair complexion, broad forehead, large eyes, long black hair and
flowing beard. From a love of decency he wore always a long robe,
which was represented to have been spotted all over with red crosses.
He was so rich that he had palaces of gold, silver, and precious stones.
He was thought to possess the greatest industry, and to have invented the
art of melting metals, and cutting gems. He was supposed to have had
the most profound wisdom, which he displayed in the laws he left to man
kind, and, above all, the most rigid and exemplary manners. Whenever
he intended promulgating a law to his kingdom, he ordered a crier to the
top of the mountain Tzatzitepec, or ' hill of shouting ;' near the city of
Tula, from whence his voice was heard for three hundred miles. In his
time the corn grew so strong that a single ear was a load for. a man.
Gourds were as long as a man's body. It was unnecessary to dye
cotton, for it grew of all colors ; all their fruits were in the same abund
ance, and of an extraordinary size. There was also at that period, an
incredible number of beautiful and sweet-singing birds. In a word, the
Mexicans imagined as much happiness under the priesthood of- Quetzal.
coatl, as the Greeks did under the reign of Saturn, whom this Mexican
god also resembled in the exile he suffered.
" Amid all this prosperity Tezcatlipoca, their supreme but visible god,
(we know not for what reason,) wishing to drive- him from Tula, appeared
to him in the form of an aged man, and told him it was the will of the
gods that he should be taken to the kingdom of Tlapalla. At the same
time he offered him a beverage, which was readily accepted, in hopes of
obtaining that immortality after which he aspired. He no sooner drank
it than he felt himself so strongly tempted to go to Tlapalla, that he set
out at once, accompanied by many of his faithful subjects. Near the
city of Quauhtitlan, he felled a tree with stones, which remained fixed
in the trunk ; and at Tlalnepautla he laid his hand upon a stone and left
an impression which the Mexicans showed to the Spaniards. Upon his
arrival at Cholula the citizens detained him, and made him take the
government of their city. He showed much aversion to cruelty, and
could not bear the mention of war. To him, the Cholulans say, they
owe their knowledge of melting metals, the laws by which they were
afterward governed, the rites and ceremonies of their religion, and, as
some say, the arrangement of their seasons and calendar. After resi
ding for 20 years in Cholula, he resolved to pursue his journey to his
imaginary kingdom of Tlapalla, carrying along with him four noble and
virtuous youths ; but, on arriving at the maritime province of Coatzaco-
alco, he dismissed them, and desired them to assure the Cholulans that

30 MEXICO.
he would return to comfort and direct them. Some said that he suddenly
disappeared, others that he died on the sea-shore ; but however that may
be, Quetzalcoatl was consecrated as a god by the Toltecas of Cholula, and
made chief guardian of their city, in the centre of which, in honor of
him, ihey raised a great eminence on which they built a temple. Another
eminence, surmounted by a temple, was afterward erected to him in
Tula. From Cholula his worship was spread over the country, where he
was adored as ' the god of the air.' He had temples in Mexico and
elsewhere, and some nations, even the enemies of the Cholulans, had
temples and priests dedicated to his worship in the city of Cholula,
whither persons came from all parts of the land to pay their devotions
and fulfil their vows. His festivals were great and extraordinary, espe
cially in Cholula.
"In every fourth, or divine year, they were preceded by a rigid fast
of eighty days, and by dreadful austerities practiced by the priests conse
crated to his worship. The Mexicans said, that Quetzalcoatl cleared the
way for the ' god of the water,' because in these countries rain is gen
erally preceded by wind."
The following singular story in relation to this divinity and certain
services of his temple, is to be found in the Nat. and Mor. Hist, of
Acosta, book v. chap. 30.
" There was at this temple of Quetzalcoatl at Cholula, a court of rea
sonable greatness, in which they made great dances and pastimes with
games and comedies, on the festival days of this idol ; for which purpose
there was in the midst of this court a theatre of thirty feet square, very
finely decked and trimmed — the which they decked with flowers that
day — with all the art and invention that might be, being environed around
with arches of divers flowers and feathers, and in some places there
were tied many small birds, conies, and other tame beasts. After din
ner all the people assembled in this place, and the players presented.
themselves and played comedies. Some counterfeited the deaf and
rheumatic ; others the lame ; some the blind and crippled which came
to seek for cure from the idol. The deaf answered confusedly; the
rheumatic coughed ; the lame halted, telling their miseries and griefs,
wherewith they made the people to laugh. Others came forth in the form
of little beasts, some attired like snails, others like toads, and some like
lizards ; then meeting together they told their offices, and every one re
tiring to his place, they sounded on small flutes, which was pleasant to
hear. They likewise counterfeited butterflies and small birds of divers
colors, which were represented by the children who were sent to the tem
ple for education. Then they went into a little forest, planted there for
the purpose, whence the priests of the temple drew them forth with instru
ments of music. In the mean time they used many pleasant speeches,
some in propounding, others in defending, wherewith the assistants were
pleasantly entertained. This done, they made a masque, or mummery
with all these personages, and so the feast ended."

CHOLULAN MYTHOLOGY.

31

From these traditions, we derive several important facts. First, that
Quetzalcoatl, was "god of the air :" Second, that he was represented as
a " feathered serpent :" Third, that he was the great divinity of the Cho- •
lulans : and, Fourth, that a hill was raised by them upon which they
erected a temple to his glory, where they celebrated his festivals with
pomp and splendor.
Combining all these, is it unreasonable to believe that the Pyramid of
Cholula was the base of this temple, and that he was there worshipped as
the Great Spirit of the air — or of the seasons ; the God who produced the
fruitfulness of the earth, regulated the sun, the wind and the shower, and
thus spread plenty over the land ? I have thought, too, that the serpent
might not improbably typify lightning, and the feathers, swiftness ; thus
denoting one of the attributes of the air — and that the most speedy and
destructive. In a worship of propitiation, it would be most proper and reasonable
that that destructive element should be personified and supplicated.
In the city of Mexico I constantly saw serpents, carved in stone, in the
various collections of antiquities. One was presented to me by the
Conde del Penasco, and the drawings below represent the figures of two
"feathered serpents," which, after considerable labor I disinterred (I may
say,) from a heap of dirt and rubbish, old boxes, chicken-coops and de.
cayed fruit, in the court-yard of the University.

32

MEXICO.

These masses of stone are
not only interesting on ac
count of their connection with
the Mexican Mythology, but
they are beautiful specimens
of Azteck art. The carv
ing with which they are cov
ered is executed with a neat
ness and gracefulness that
would make them, as mere
ornaments, worthy of the
chisel of an ancient sculptor.
* * * *
The present town of Cho
lula is scarcely more than a
village, and seems gradually
still more decaying. At the
conquest it was a city of much
splendor, as we gather from
the accounts of Cortez, who,
in his letters to the Emperor
speaks of it thus :
" This city of Churultecal*
is situated on a plain, and contains twenty thousand houses within the body
of the town, and as many in the suburb. Its people are well dressed, and
its neighboring fields are exceedingly fertile ; and I certify to your ma
jesty, that, from one of the temples I have counted more than four hundred
towers, and they are all the towers of temples !"
Such was Cholula when it fell under the Spanish sway, and there seems
to be no reason to doubt, that, " sacred city" as it was held to be by the
Indians of the period, the account of Cortez was indeed correct. But the
temple is year after year crumbling, more and more, to decay ; its outlines
are becoming more and more indistinct ; and of the race that worshipped on
that pyramid, there now remains nothing but a few servile Indians who till
the adjacent fields, and the women who throng the market-place with their
fruits and flowers. I wanted some relics of the spot, and commissioning
a proud-looking fellow, who may have been, for aught I know, a great-
great-great-great-grandson of some of the lords of Cholula, to hunt up
a few antiquities ; he brought me, after an hour's search among the ruins,
a quantity of pottery, heads of animals, fragments of vases, and a sinal
idol sculptured in white marble. These are my souvenirs of Cholula.

* The ancient name of Cholula.

LETTER VII.

LAST DAY S RIDE TO MEXICO.

Soon after our departure from Puebla,* we crossed a small stream
spanned by a fine bridge, and commenced ascending by a very gradually
inclined plain toward the Sierra Nevada. The mountains on our left are
a stupendous range, standing out sharply against the bright blue sky, in
the clear early light and pure atmosphere, their lower portions covered
with dark pine forests, from which the conic peak of Popocatepetl, with
its eternal snow, emerges majestically ; while, further north, towers its
gigantic rival, Iztaccihuatl. Between us and the mountains is the
Pyramid of Cholula. As we approach this elevated region, the country
becomes well watered, and the plain is just sufficiently inclined for irri
gation ; the soil rich, the estates extensive, and cultivated with the greatest
care. Immense herds of cattle are spread over the fields, and the land,
now preparing for the winter crops, is divided into extensive tracts of a
thousand acres, along which the furrows are drawn with mathematical
accuracy. Among these noble farms a multitude of habitations are
scattered,, which, inclosing the numerous population necessary for labor,
with the requisite chapels, churches, and surrounding offices, gleam out
brightly with their white walls from among the dark foliage of the groves,
and impress one as favorably as the multitude of tasteful villages that dot
the windings of our beautiful Connecticut.
We breakfasted hastily at San Martin, and for the next league our
ascent was almost imperceptible. At length we crossed several fine
streams, and the road, rising rapidly, struck more into the mountain.
There was no longer any sign of cultivation, even in the dells, but the
* It is not over two or three hundred yards from the gates of Puebla, where most of the robberies of which I
afterward heard during my residence in Mexico, occurred. A band of some five, ten, or a dozen men, armed,
with their faces covered with crape, usually stood waiting in the early dawn, for the diligence. If there were
armed foreigners in the coach, they would look in, consult a moment, and then ride off. Jf the passengers
were unarmed, and the boot of the vehicle looked heavy and tempting, the result was the perfect sacking of the
whole company. Their persons were first robbed and partially stripped as they descended from the door : they
were then made to lie down with their mouths on the ground— and their trunks were rilled. One lady (the
present prima donna of the opera in Mexico) lost $8000 in doubloons and jewels, at this very spot— notwith
standing a guard had been promised by the authorities, and paid for. The instances, however, were innu
merable and unpardonable, while regiments of cavalry dozed( within a quarter of a mile, in a city almost
under Martial Law.
While I resided in the Capital, during Santa Anna's vigorous administration, he had some 65 or 70 gwrrotted.
T*yo or three every week. This for a time struck terror to the band ; but I learn that lately they leave again
taken to the road with renewed vigor.
3

34 MEXICO.
dense forest spread out on every side its sea of foliage. The road was
as smooth as a bowling-green, and we swung along over the levels, up
hill and down, until we passed the Puente de Tesmeluca, over a stream
dashing from a mountain ravine like a shower of silver from among the
•verdure. After again ascending another mountain, and following its de
scent on the other side, we reached the village of Rio Frio, a collection
of the miserable huts of coal-burners, and the nest and nursery of as
fierce a brood of robbers as haunt the forests. In proof of this, and,
moreover, that the Cross, in this land, is no " sign of redemption" the
sacred emblem was again spread out on every side, as yesterday in the
Barranca Secca, marking the grave of some murdered traveller. We
were once more in the fields of romance and robbery ; yet, well guarded
to-day by a vigilant troop, and in good spirits at the near termination of
our trials, we again launched forth for our final ride. Leaving this
narrow and desolate ravine among the hills, the road once more ascends
by a series of short windings through the pine woods, among which the
wind whistled cold and shrill as over our winter plains ; and, thus grad
ually scaling the last mountain on our route, while the increased guard
scoured the recesses of the forest, we reached the lofty summit in about
an hour, and rolled for some distance along a level table land, catching
glimpses, occasionally, of a distant horizon to the west, apparently as
illimitable as the sea. The edge of the mountain was soon turned, and
as the coach dipped forward on the descent of the western slope, a sudden
clearing in the forest disclosed the magnificent Valley of Mexico.
The sight of land to the sea- worn sailor — the sight of home to the wan
derer, who has not beheld for years the scene of his boyhood — are not
hailed with more thrilling delight than was the exclamation from one of
our passengers as he announced this prospect.
I am really afraid to describe this valley to you, as I dislike to deal
in hyperboles. I have seen the Simplon — the Spleugen — the view from
Rhigi — the " wide and winding Rhine " — and the prospect from Vesuvius
over the lovely bay of Naples, its indolent waves sleeping in the warm
sunshine on their purple bed — but none of these scenes compare with the
Valley of Mexico. They want some one of the elements of grandeur,
all of which are gathered here. Although the highest triumphs of human
genius and art may disappoint you, Nature never does. The conceptions
of Him who laid the foundations of the mountains, and poured the waters
of the seas from his open palm, can never be reached by the fancies of
men. And if, after all the exaggerated descriptions of St. Peter's and
the Pyramids, we feel sick with disappointment when we stand before
them, it is never so with the sublime creations of the Almighty.
You would, therefore, no doubt, most readily spare my attempting
to give by the pen a description of what even the more graphic pencil has
ever failed faithfully to convey. But I feel in some measure bound to
make for you a catalogue of this valley's features, though I am confident
I must fail to describe or paint them.

VALLEY OF MEXICO. 35
Conceive yourself placed on a mountain nearly two thousand feet above
the valley, andnine thousand above the level of the sea. A sky above you
of the most perfect azure, without a cloud, and an atmosphere so trans
parently pure, that the remotest objects at the distance of many leagues
are as distinctly visible as if at hand. The gigantic scale of everything
first strikes you — you seem to be looking down upon a world. No other
mountain and valley view has such an assemblage of features, because
nowhere else are the mountains at the same time so high, the valley so
wide, or filled with such variety of land and water. The plain beneath
is exceedingly level, and for two hundred miles around it extends a
barrier of stupendous mountains, most of which have been active volcanos,
and are now covered, some with snow, and some with forests. It is laced
with large bodies of water looking more like seas than lakes — it is dotted
with innumerable villages, and estates and plantations ; eminences rise
from it which, elsewhere, would be called mountains, yet there, at your
feet, they seem but ant-hills on the plain ; and now, letting your eye fol
low the rise of the mountains to the west, (near fifty miles distant,) you
look over the immediate summits that wall the valley, to another and
more distant range — and to range beyond range, with valleys between
each, until the whole melts into a vapory distance, blue as the cloudless
sky above you.
I could have gazed for hours at this little world while the sun and
passing vapor chequered the fields, and sailing off again, left the whole
one bright mass of verdure and water — bringing out clearly the domes of
the village churches studding the plain or leaning against the first slopes
of the mountains, with the huge lakes looming larger in the rarified at
mosphere. Yet one thing was wanting. Over the immense expanse
there seemed scarce an evidence of life. There were no figures in the
picture. It lay torpid in the sunlight, like some deserted region where
Nature was again beginning to assert her empire — vast, solitary and
melancholy. There were no sails — no steamers on the lakes, no smoke
over the villages, no people at labor in the fields, no horsemen, coaches,
or travellers but ourselves. The silence was almost supernatural ; one
expects to hear the echo of the national strife that filled these plains with
discord, yet lingering among the hills. It was a picture of " still life "
inanimate in every feature, save where, on the distant mountain sides, the
fire of some poor coal-burner, mingled its blue wreath with the bluer sky,
or the tinkle of the bell of a solitary muleteer was heard from among the
dark and solemn pines.
What a theatre for the great drama that has been performed within the
limits of this valley ! When Cortez first stood upon these mountains,
and looked down on the lovely scene, peaceful then and rich under the
cultivation of its Indian children ; the hills and plains covered with for
ests, and much of what is now dry land hidden by the extensive lake, in
the midst of which rose the proud city of the Aztec kings filled with pal
aces and temples ; in site, another Venice on its inland sea ; in art, the
3*

36 MEXICO.

Indian Attica — when he beheld, I say, this tranquil scene at his feet, what
must have been the avarice and the relentlessness of an unknightly heart
that urged him onward to the destruction and enslavement of a civilized
and unoffending people, whose only crime was, the possession of a coun-
try rich enough to be plundered to minister to the luxury of a bigoted
race beyond the sea !

Our descent commenced from the eminence where we had halted
awhile to survey the valley. Our coachman was an honest Yankee,
fearless as the wild horses he drove, and they scoured along under his
lash as if we had the level roads of New England beneath us. But, alas!
we had not. I question whether there are any such roads elsewhere— in
the world — nor can you conceive them, because your experience among
the wilds of the Aroostook or the marshes of the Mississippi, can furnish
no symptoms of such highways. They were gullies, washed into the
mountain side by the rains; filled, here and there, with stones and
branches ; dammed up, to turn the water, by mounds a couple of feet
high — and thus, gradually serpentining to the foot of the declivity. You
may readily imagine that there was no such thing as rolling down with
our rapid motion over such a ravine. We literally jumped from dam to
dam, and rock to rock, and in many places where the steep is certainly
at an angle of 45°, I must confess that I quailed at the impending danger
while the horses bounded along as fiercely as if they bore Mazeppa. But
the driver knew what he was about, and in an hour drew up at the Venta
de Cordova, where, when I alighted, I found myself deaf and giddy from
the heat, dust, and irregular motion. In a few moments, however, the
blood poured from my head and I was relieved, though I felt ill and un
comfortable the rest of the day. Two of the other passengers suffered in
the same manner.*
The succeeding distance of about thirty miles lies along the level, and
skirts a detached range of volcanic hills between the lakes of Tezcoco
and Chalco, the same which I described, some time ago, as rising like
ant-heaps from the plain. We passed the village of Ayotla, and through
a number of collections of mud-walled huts and desolate hovels, buried
up among palm-trees and fields of barley and maguey, (resembling the
streets of ruined tombs near Rome ;) but nowhere did I see any evidence
of neat or careful cultivation, or of comfort and thriftiness. In this the
valley of Mexico is, markedly, different from that of Puebla. Misery
and neglect reigned absolute. Squalid Indians in rags exhibiting almost
entirely their dirty bodies, thronged the road ; miserable devils coming
* Almost all travellers suffer from giddiness and flow of blood to the head on their arrival on the Valley o'
Mexico. This arises from the great rarefaction of the atmosphere, 7600 feet above the level of the sea.

APPROACHING THE CAPITAL. 37
from market ; children, half-starved and naked, and women, whose wiry
and uncombed hair gave them the mien of porcupines.
At length, as we gained the top of a little eminence our driver pointed
out the "City of Mexico:" — a long line of turrets, and domes, and spires,
lying in the lap of beautiful meadows, and screened, partially, by inter
vening trees, planted along the numerous avenues leading to the Capital.
About two leagues from the city we came to the ancient border of the
lake of Tezcoco, now a marshy flat from which the waters have receded.
Here we mounted the Calzada, or causeway, raised about six feet above
the surrounding waters.
This road is not one of the ancient avenues by which the city was ap
proached, across the lake, during the reign of the Indians, but was con
structed at great expense by the old Spanish Government. Although the
land to the north of it is covered with saline particles that are perfectly
visible as you ride along, yet the southern flats, being watered by the
fresher stream from Chalco which flows through several apertures of the
dike, are in no manner discolored. The northern marsh was covered
with myriads of ducks, and looked as if it had been literally peppered
with wild fowl. These birds are murdered in immense quantities with a
sort of infernal machine, formed by the union of a great number of gun-
barrels, and they furnish the chief food of the poor of Mexico.
Thus, about four o'clock, we passed this unprepossessing approach to
the Capital, driving by the body of a man who had just been murdered,
lying on the road side, with the blood flowing from his recent wound.
Hundreds passed, but no one noticed him. At the gates we were detained
only a moment for examination, and we entered the city by the Puerto de
San Lazaro. A saint who suffered from impure blood, and presides over
sores, may well be the patron of that portal and portion of the suburbs
through which we jolted over disjoined pavements, while the water lay
green and putrid in the stagnant gutter, festering in the middle of close
streets, swarmed with ragged thousands. As I looked at them from our
window, they seemed more like a population of witches, freshly dismounted
from their broomsticks, than anything else to which, in fancy, I can readily
compare them.
But the journey ended as we drove to the hotel Vergara, where a dirty
court-yard, filled with sheep, chickens, horses, bath-houses, and a black
smith's shop, received our jaded crew. I found that a kind friend had
already prepared rooms for me, where, after a bath and dinner, I was
made as comfortable as possible, by the attentions of a hospitable land
lady.

LETTER VIII.

THE CITY OF MEXICO.

You left me retiring to rest at my hotel in Mexico, and soundly did I
repose after my last fatiguing ride from the mountains and over the plain
to the city. I was roused, however, betimes by the clang of the church
bells for early mass. This sound I had not heard since my visit to
Italy many years ago, and if, brought back to me many pleasant memo.
ries, as I lay half awake and half dreaming, during the early hours.
When I arose other recollections of Italy were excited. The windows,
descending to the ground, of the brick-paved room, thrown open, let in an
air worthy of Naples the beautiful ! It was the middle of November,
but there was a May-mildness in the atmosphere. The sky was of that
deep ultra-marine blue peculiar to elevated regions. As I ranged my
eye down the street from my balcony, the town was alive with a teeming
population ; the windows of the houses stood open ; fair women strolled
homeward from mass ; old monks shuffled along in their cowled robes ;
the butcher urged along his ass with its peripatetic stall hung around
with various meats ; freshly-leaved flowers and trees stood in the court
yards, of which I caught glimpses through the opened portals ; and in the
balconies lounged the early risers, enjoying a cigar after their cup of
chocolate. 'It was a lively and beautiful scene, worthy of the pencil of
that master painter of cities — Cannaletti, who would have delighted in
the remarkable transparency and purity of the atmosphere through which
the distant hills, some twenty miles off, seemed but a barrier at the end
of the street !
The plan of the city of Mexico is precisely that of a checquer-board
with a greater number of squares. Straight streets cross each other at
right-angles and at regular intervals. The houses are painted with gay
colors — light blue, fawn, and green, interspersed with a pure white, that
remains long unstained in the dry atmosphere.
The view of all these from the elevated tower of the cathedral, (to
which I soon repaired after my arrival in the capital,) presents a mass of
domes, steeples, and flat-roofed dwellings, frequently covered, like hang
ing gardens, with flowers and foliage. Beyond the gates, (which you
would scarcely think bounded a population of 200,000,) the vast plain
stretches out on every side to the mountains, traversed in some places by

P LAZA AND PARIAN.

39

long lines of aqueducts sweeping to the city from the hills, and in others,
studded with lakes, cultivation, and beautiful groves, until the distant
view is closed by the volcanoes, whose snows rest against the blue sky,
uncovered, at this season, by a single cloud.
Below is the great square or Plaza ; a large paved area, fronted on the
north, by the Cathedral ; on the east, by the National Palace, (the resi
dence of the President ;) to the south of which, again, are the museum,
and a stone edifice recently built in tasteful style, for a market. The
corner-stone* of this was laid after I arrived in Mexico, and before I
left, the building was nearly completed. Until that time the fruits, flow
ers, vegetables, and most of the necessaries of the table, had been sold
on that spot, in shambles and booths built of bamboos and reeds, sheltered
from ihe rain and sun by thatched roofs !
In the southwestern corner of the square is the Parian, an unsightly
building (erected, I believe, since the revolution,) which greatly mars the
effect of the Plaza. It is a useful establishment, however, as it affords
a large revenue to the municipality, and is the great bazaar where every
article requisite for the dress of Mexicans, male or female, may be pur
chased at reasonable prices. On the pavement which runs round it, sit
numbers of coachmen whose stand is in the neighborhood, and crowds
of women with ready-made shoes. Not the least curious, however, among
the multitude, with which this side- walk is generally thronged, are about
a dozen " evangelistas" or " letter-writers," whose post is always on the
curb-stones of the eastern front of the Parian. A huge jug of ink is
placed beside them ; a board rests across their knees ; a pile of different
colored paper (most of which is either cut, valentine fashion, or flourished
over and --adorned with pen-and-ink ornaments,) is placed on it, and, on a
stool before them, sits some disconsolate looking damsel or heart-broken
* A medal was struck in commemoration of this event, the legend on which I give for the sake of those who
are curious in inscriptions of "modem" latin. The medal is perfectly plain, and of silver.

FRECEARVS MLITIE
KEIPVBLICE QTEDUX
ANTOKXOPEZ BE JSMTArAMA-y
MDCCCXM.

'JETilBERTMIS 1TDEC0EUS PATBIE POSTOT.

40 MEXICO
lover, pouring out a passion which the scribe puts into becoming phrase-
ology. It is an important trade ; and more money is earned in Mexico
by this proxy-making love, than perhaps anywhere else. You can have
a "declaration" for one rial; a scolding letter for a medio; and an up.
braiding epistle, full of daggers, jealousy, love, and tenderness, (leaving
the unfortunate recipient in a very distracted state of mind,) done upon
azure paper be-sprinkled with hearts and doves, for the ridiculous price
of twenty-five cents !
West of the Parian, and all around the southern and western sides of
the Plaza, or those portions of it which are not directly occupied by the
Cathedral and National Palace, run the arched Portales, similar to the
arcades of Bologna. These are filled with gay shops, peddlers, caffes,
old clothes, toys, flower- venders, sweetmeats, bookstalls, cutlers, curiosity-
hunters, antiquities, (veritable and doubtful,) and the usual crowd of
loungers and quidnuncs. Here the last revolution, or the probability of
a new one, is in continual discussion, by knots of idlers. Above stairs,
in some of the dwellings, are gambling-houses, as formerly in the Palais
Royal, with which the scene here presented does not, of course, vie in
taste or splendor.
Opposite to the southern end of the Parian is the Casa Municipal, or
town-hall, in the lower story of which is the Lonja, (the Exchange of
the merchants of Mexico,) a noble room, filled with all the gazettes of
the Republic, of Europe, and the United States, and adjoined by an apart
ment in which readers may occasionally amuse themselves with a game
of billiards.

Descending from the tower of the Cathedral, let us enter the doors of
the sacred edifice.
Its floor is of loose disjointed boards, filled with dirt and filth— the cov
ering of the many dead who lie mouldering beneath. But with this, all
meanness ends ; and whether we contemplate the dimensions of the edifice,
or the millions that have been spent upon its decoration, the mind is lost
in wonder. It is impossible for me to describe the whole of this building
to you— a book would not suffice for the immense and minute detail with
which its walls and altars are embellished.
In order to afford you some idea of the wealth of the church, generally—
and passing over plate glass and crystal, silver frames, lamps, carving
and gilding enough to make an ordinary metropolitan church blaze with
splendor_I will only mention one object in the body of the building:
the altar and its accessories.
The Cathedral occupies a space of 500 feet by 420 front. The main
altar is not erected against the wall, but near the centre of the edifice,
beneath the dome. From this, extending around the choir probably two

THELEPEROS. 41
hundred feet, there is a rail between four and five feet high, and of propor
tionable thickness, composed of gold, silver, and a small alloy of brass.
This is surmounted with silver statues for candles. In front of the altar is
the choir, itself a church, built of dark woods of the rarest antique carving.
The altar (placed upon a marble platform, elevating it from the floor of
the building, and covered with gold and silver ornaments, candlesticks
and crosses,) is of wrought and polished silver ; and the whole is sur
mounted by a small temple, in which rests the figure of the Virgin of
Remedios, who enjoys the exclusive right to three petticoats ; one embroi
dered with pearls, another with emeralds, and a third with diamonds, ihe value
of which, I am credibly informed, is not less than three millions of dollars !
This, you will recollect, is only one part of one church in Mexico, and that
one said not to be the richest !
Around this splendid mine of wealth are half-naked Indians, gaping
with surprise, or kneeling to the figure of some favorite saint — the misery
of the man a painful contrast with the splendor of the shrine !

Passing from the Cathedral door to the south-eastern portion of the city,
you reach the outskirts, crossing, in your way, the canals from the lake.
I have rarely seen such miserable suburbs ; they are filled with hovels
built of sun-dried bricks, often worn with the weather to the shape of holes
in the mud, while on their earthen floors crawl, cook, live and multiply,
the wretched-looking population of Uperos.
This word, I believe, is not pure Spanish, but is derived originally, it is
said, from the Castilian lepra, or leper ; and although they do not suffer
from that loathsome malady, they are quite as disgusting.
Blacken a man in the sun ; let his hair grow long and tangled, or be
come filled with vermin ; let him plod about the streets in all kinds of
dirt for years, and never know the use of brush, or towel, or water even,
except in storms ; let him put on a pair of leather breeches at twenty, and
wear them until forty, without change or ablution ; and, over all, place a
torn and blackened hat, and a tattered blanket begrimed with abomi
nations ; let him have wild eyes, and shining teeth, and features pinched
by famine into sharpness ; breasts bared and browned, and (if females)
with two or three miniatures of the same species trotting after her, and
another certainly strapped to her back : combine all these in your ima
gination, and you have a recipe for a Mexican lepero.
There, on the canals, around the markets and pulque shops, the Indians
and these miserable outcasts hang all day long ; feeding on fragments,
quarrelling, drinking, stealing and lying drunk about the pavements, with
their children crying with hunger around them. At night they slink off
to these suburbs and coil themselves up on the damp floors of their lairs,
to sleep off the effects of liquor, and to awake to another day of misery

42 MEXICO.
and crime. Is it wonderful, in a city with an immense proportion of its
inhabitants of such a class, (hopeless in the present and the future,) that
there are murderers and robbers ?

In the Indian population which pours into the Capital from the lakes,
I must say that there is apparently more worth and character. You see
them lolling about in their boats on the canals, and passing and repassing
in their canoes, plying between the city and Chalco and Tezcoco. It is
a beautiful sight to behold these tiny vessels skim like floating gardens to
the quays in the morning, laden to the water's edge with the fruits, flow
ers and vegetables, that hide the skiff that bears them.
The old houses in this neighborhood, rising out of the canals, the slug
gish waters, and the dark multitude of the better classes in fanciful dresses,
remind one strongly of Venice.
Skirting the canal, and leading to the plain which adjoins the Chenampas,
or former floating gardens, is the Passeo de la Viga, a public drive fre
quented by the beau monde, both in coach and on horseback, during the
season of Lent. Scarcely an afternoon passes, at that period of the year,
that the observer will not find the canal covered with gay boat-loads of
Indians, passing homeward from market, dancing, singing, laughing,
strumming the guitar, and crowned with wreaths of poppies. I do not
know the origin of the custom of wearing this forgetful flower ; but it is
both a healthier and more poetic oblivion than that resorted to by many'
folks in other lands, after a day of toil.
Turning once more westward, we again reach the great square.
As we pass the front of the National Palace, from out of its main portal
dash fifty gayly-caparisoned huzzars, followed by a coach richly decked
with crimson velvet and gold, drawn by four white horses and driven by
a Yankee coachman. Behind this dash fifty more huzzars, while at the
side of the coach, six aid-de-camps rein in their mettlesome chargers.
There is but one person in the vehicle. His dress is that of a General of
division, with red facings and gold embroideries. He wears a number
of decorations around his neck, while a medal blazing with diamonds,
voted to him by the nation, rests on his bosom. His sword-handle is
studded with diamonds, and his hand rests on a diamond-headed cane.
He is uncovered, and, as he passes and bows gracefully to your saluta
tion, you recognize the President of the Republic !
The departure of the President from the Palace has attracted a crowd.
The adjoining market, ever filled with people, pours forth its multitudes
into the square.
First, there is the Aquador or water-carrier, with his two earthen
jars— one suspended by a leathern belt thrown around his forehead and

THE AGUADOR.

43

THE AGUADOR.

resting on his back, and the other suspended from the back of his head
in front of him, preserving the equilibrium.*
Next, there is the Indian with a huge coop of chickens and turkies-
or a crate of earthenware, or a pannier of oranges, borne on his back,
like the aquador's jar. Then a woman, with peas, or ducks, or fish from
the lake ; another with potatoes ; another drives along a poor stunted ass,
laden with radishes and onions ; and all the members of this motley
crowd, are crying their wares and merchandise at the top of their voices.
It is a Babel !
Amid the throng treads onward, with step majestic, the queenly Spanish
woman ; by her side is a friar, and hard by a couple of priests in their
graceful black cloaks and shovel hats.

* An Englishman passing an aguador in the street, struck the jar on the fellow's back with his cane. It
broke— and the weight of the other jar immediately brought the poor earner on his nose. He arose in a rage.
The offender, however, immediately calmed him with a couple of dollars. " I only wanted to see whether you
were exactly tialanced, my dear fellow, and the experiment is worth the money /"

44

MEXICO.

FRIAR AND PRIESTS.

In the shadow of a pillar of the Portales sneaks a miserable looking
wretch, wrapped in his tattered blanket — a lepero, porter, beggar, thief, as
the occasion offers ; and he takes the advantage of the latter employment
in this moment of excitement, to ease an unsuspicious stranger of his
handkerchief! A tinkle of a bell at the door of the Cathedral sacristy, and a roll of
drums calling out the guard of honor at the palace gate, give warning of
a change of scene.
Slowly issues a gayly-painted coach with glass windows on all sides,
-drawn by spotted mules; a priest in his vestments sits within; a band
of boys walk on each side, chanting a hymn ; and in a moment, a
deathlike stillness pervades the whole square. From the tradesman, sel
ling his tapes under the Portales, to the thief, who has barely time to
conceal the handkerchief in his dirty blanket, the whole crowd is un
covered^ and kneeling: the Host is passing to the house of some dying
Catholic !.
The carriage turns a corner, and the square is alive again ; the trades
man to sell, the lepero to steal, and the lesson of death is forgotten for
ever !

THE ALAMEDA. 45
Turning westward from the square we reach the Alameda, by a very
short walk through the Calle Plaleros, a street filled with the shops of
goldsmiths, watchmakers, French hairdressers, French cooks, French
milliners, French carvers and gilders, and French print-sellers ; and we
pass on our way the rich Convent of the Professa or ex-Jesuits — and the
more splendid one of the blue-robed Monks of St. Francis. The Ala
meda is a beautiful grove of forest-trees, planted on about ten acres of
, moist and luxuriant soil. The wood, which is walled and protected by
gates closed every evening as the bells toll for Oration, is intersected
with walks and surrounded by a carriage road. Fountains fling up their
waters where the paths cross each other, and the ground beneath the full-
grown trees is filled with flowers and shrubbery. The great centre
fountain is surmounted by a gilded figure of Liberty, and gilded lions
spout forth the water at* its feet. This, and the other smaller jets, in
pleasanter and more secluded nooks, are circled with stone seats. It is
the fashion to <c_ome here in carriages and on horseback every evening,
(except during Lent,) and to drive round and round the inclosure, on the
soft roads in the dense shade, until the vesper bell — or, to draw up in
line on the side of one of the highways, while the cavaliers pass up and
down in review, or prattle away half an hour at the coach-window of
some renowned belle.
But there can be nothing more delightful than a walk here during the
early morning. There is a freshness then in the air, a quiet and peace-
fulness, that are found at no other time of the day. The student comes
with his book ; the priest, from his early mass ; the nurse, with her baby ;
the sentimental miss, to sigh for her lover, (and perhaps to see him ;) the
dyspeptic, to earn an appetite for his breakfast ; the monk, the lounger,
and even the laborer, stop for a moment beneath the refreshing shades,
to take breath for the coming day. It is almost druidical in the solemn
stillness of its groves, placed in the midst of a population of two hundred
thousand. Even the birds seem to have been made sacred; scared from
the plains, they are here in sanctuary, and no profane hand dares touch
them. They have consequently planted, as if by consent of each other,
distinct colonies in different parts of the wood ; the owl, sitting on her
branch, in one place ; the doves, making love the business of their lives in
another ; the mocking-birds, making a third spot a perfect choir ; and in
numerable sparrows and wrens, like so many Paul Prys, chattering and
pottering about with an intrusive pertness through the dominions of -all
the rest.
Directly west of the Alameda, and on the same street, is the Passeo
Nuevo, another delightful drive of a mile in length, bordered with paths
and trees, and divided by fountains adorned with statuary and sculpture.
Passing out of the western gate of the Alameda, the fashionables
every evening take a turn or two along this drive. On festivals it is
crowded. All the equipages of the city must be there, and it is the
mode for every person of consideration, or who desires consideration, to

46 MEXICO
possess an equipage. It is not thought " exactly proper" for a lady ever to
walk, except to mass — or, sometimes, when she goes shopping. The
coach, therefore, on all gala days, is sure to appear on the Passeo with
its fair burden, dressed in the French style, as for a dinner party or a
ball. When I first arrived in Mexico, it was rare to see a bonnet on
such occasions; but that awkward appendage of fashionable costume
was becoming gradually in vogue before I left.
For an hour, or more, it is the custom to pass up and down the sides
of the Passeo, nodding and. smiling at the cavaliers, who show off their
horsemanship along the centre of the road. Here the utmost luxury and
style are exhibited in the equipment of carriage and animals. Gold em
broidery, silver plating, and every ornament that can add splendor to
harness and livery are brought forth. To such an extent is the taste for
these exhibitions carried, that one of the millionaires of Mexico appears
occasionally at the Passeo, on a saddle which (without counting the value
of the rest of his caparison,) cost the sum of five thousand dollars. It
was the chef d'oiuvre of an honest German saddler, who made it, and —
retired from trade to his beloved " father land."
On approaching this charming drive, the whole plain of the Valley of
Mexico is at once revealed to you, without passing a dirty suburb. On
your right, is the cypress-covered and castle-crowned hill of Chapulte
pec, formerly the site, it is alleged, of one of Montezuma's palaces ; before
you and behind, stretch two immense aqueducts — the one coming from
the hills, the other from a greater distance, near Tacubaya, and screening
that village as it leans against the first slopes of the western mountains.
On your left tower the volcanoes, on whose summits the last rosy rays
of sunset are resting.
The gay throng disperses, as the moon rises from behind the moun
tains, pouring a flood of clear light, bright as the day in other lands,
over the tranquil landscape.
The moonlight of Mexico is marvellously beautiful. That city, you
remember, is 7,500 feet above the level of the sea, and nearly that
number of feet closer to the stars than we are ; the atmosphere, conse
quently, is more rarefied, and the light comes, as it were, pure, and pel
lucid from heaven : you seem able to touch the stars, so brilliantly near
do they stand out relieved against the back-ground of an intensely blue
sky. Strolling on such nights in Mexico, when I saw the sharp lines of
tower and temple come boldly out with shape and even color, almost
as bright, yet softer than at noon-day, I have often been tempted to^ay
that the moonlight you get at home (much as it is the theme of poets and
lovers,) is but second-hand stuff, compared with that of Mexico.
And so with the climates. Between the sea-shore at Vera Cruz and the
volcanoes, whose eternal snows hang over Mexico, you have every climate
of the world.
In the Valley there is a perpetual spring. For six months in the
year (the winter months, as they are called,) rain never falls ; during

CLIMATE.

47

the other six months showers occur almost daily. It is never hot — never
very cool, and you may wear your cloak or your summer dress the
whole year according to the temper of your nervous system. One
side of the street is always too warm at noon. Cold and sleeting as it is
here in January, the roses are already blooming freshly in the gardens
of Mexico. Nor is there perceptible change of foliage on the forest trees ;
the new leaves push off the old ones with a " gentle force," and the
regeneration of the seasons is effected without the process of fading, wilt
ing, withering and dying, which makes with us the melancholy days of
autumn " the saddest of the year."
To look at the external world, you would say there was no such thing
as death in Mexico. The rose and the leaf you admire to-day, are
replaced to-morrow, by fresh buds and renewed verdure.

LETTER IX,

THE CITY OF MEXICO.

When a traveller arrives in an European city, nothing is easier than
to find at once every species of accommodation for his comfort. Indeed, it
is not necessary to seek them. He can scarcely walk a square in any
of the capitals without being attracted by inviting labels, which promise
splendid apartments and every luxury requisite in this age of elegance
and ease. t
Not so in Mexico. The Hotel Vergara, at which I first descended;
though kept by a most courteous lady, who does all in her power to render
her guests comfortable, is but a miserable establishment compared even
with our most ordinary inns. It is but a small remove from the Fondas
and Mesones of the olden time in Mexico. This arises from the fact that
travelling is only of a recent date ; a new invention as it were, in Mexico.
In former times, articles of merchandise were sent under the care of Ar-
rieros, who were satisfied with the accommodation of the ordinary tavern,
to wit: four walls, covered with a roof, in which they might stretch their
mats, pile their saddles, and sleep — living, the while, on tortillias,
onions, pulque and jerked meats. Whenever the better classes found it
needful to visit the Capital, the house of some friend was open to them,
and thus, hospitality prevented the creation of an honest race of Boni
faces to welcome the. weary wayfarer.
I soon became tired of my comfortless apartment, for which an extrava
gant price was charged, and betook myself to furnished rooms in a French
Hotel, called the " Gran Sociedad," where, for about seventy dollars a
month, I got a flea-haunted bed — space enough for my books and papers —
a broad balcony shielded from the sun by a fanciful curtain — and two
Frenchified meals per day, from a restaurateur kept in the same building.
Here I tarried six months, until, tired in turn of the discomforts and
expense, I went to housekeeping in a set of apartments with the American
Consul. We took a portion of the first floor of a dwelling in the Calle
Vergara, belonging to an ex-Marquesa, to whom, and to her worthy son, I
must bear the testimony of a grateful heart for unwearied kindness in
sickness and in health. The residence was one of the pleasantest, for
its size, I know in Mexico. The entrance is into a paved yard, around
which the house is built, with its apartments looking into the court from

INTERIOR OF A MEXICAN HOUSE.

SOCIALFEATURES. 49
all sides, perfectly screened from the street and sun. On the second
floor, (on which we lodged,) a corridor runs round the walls, covered
with a roof to protect it from the weather, and filled with orange and
lemon trees, and a variety of flowering shrubs, planted in vases of rare
old India china, that would delight the heart of a London fancier.
Here my days were passed in the fulfillment of my official duties, and
my evenings, when not at the theatre, (which I found a great aid in
acquiring the language,) in the midst of this pleasant family. The ex
cellent lady at the head of it had once belonged to one of the wealthiest
establishments in the Republic. The revolutions, and a series of mishaps,
had broken her fortunes ; yet they could not deprive her of her talents,
her accomplishments, her vivacity, or the kindness of her heart and tem
per. Qualities like these were sure to endear the friends of her better
days, and, in truth, they had not deserted her. It was thus, that in her
apartments, over a quiet game of monte, where a thousand nuts were the
highest stake ; I made many of my pleasantest acquaintances, both male
and female, in Mexico. Here too I saw the better phases of Mexican
character, in private life. The respect for age — the sincerity of friend
ship — the results of reading and education — and the honest, unpretending
naturalness of character for which, over all other people I have ever met
with, I think the best of them are remarkable.
It has been taxed upon people who live in fine climates — where the
warm sun and the teeming fields woo constantly to the open air — that they
want the social virtues. They possess no fireside — that focus into which
the family affections are gathered and cherished. I will not pretend that
the Mexicans are a home people, like the Germans, the English, and, per
haps, ourselves ; but it is equally certain, that they are not without those
social tastes and reunions, which make their dwellings a favorite re
sort. It is true, that much time is devoted by fashionable society to the
morning mass, the evening drive, and to the theatre ; but, in a population
of 200,000, these should not be regarded as the characteristics of the
whole people. It is this partial examination of a class, and an identifica
tion of its peculiarities, habits or tastes, with those of the whole nation,
that is the error of English tourists in ttieir descriptions of our own
country. It is neither by the most fashionable society — which is always
the most corrupt, deceitful and unsubstantial ; nor by the very lowest class,
which is always the most vicious — that we are to characterize nations.
In the sober, patient, patriotic, toilsome, well taught, frugal, middle ranks
of life — the true virtues, and noblest features of a people are most evi
dent; and, although these characteristics may be found both among the
very highest and the very lowest, yet it is alone in this class that they
may be sought with certainty.
# * * * * ¦*
The houses of the Mexicans are usually built of the strongest materials,
either brick or stone, and without much architectural pretension. They
are erected around patios, or court-yards, and are from 30 to 40 feet front
4

50 MEXICO.
on the street— the grand saloon being generally the length of the whole
house. On the ground-floor are the porter's lodge, offices and carriage-
house. From this, a flight of steps leads to an entresol, devoted to the
domestics, while the upper story is universally the fashionable and best
one. Here the family dwells in perfect seclusion from the street and
neighbors, and the arcade which fronts their doors is filled with the choi
cest fruit and flower-trees in constant bloom. Above all this is the azotea,
or flat, paved roof, a delightful retreat on summer nights. The front
windows of the houses are all guarded by balconies covered with gayly.
colored awnings ; and on days of festival, when filled with the gay throng
of Mexican women, and hung with tapestry and velvet, they present a
most brilliant appearance.
The carriage, and ever-harnessed mules, stand constantly in the court
yard below ; and the postillion is ready to mount and sally forth at a
moments' notice until after dark, when the large front gate is closed, locked
and barred ; and the house becomes as quiet and secure as a castle, with
which no communication from without is permitted, until you tell your
name, or signify to the porter the object of your visit. Until this cere
mony has passed, no bolt is drawn in the wicket or latch raised to admit
you ; and the caution is extremely necessary, on account of the frequent
robberies that have been committed by allowing unknown persons to enter
after dark.
It has been said that " cleanliness is a virtue," and I think that polite
ness should be classed next to it. Cleanliness does not always proceed
from the mere love of personal or domestic purity, but is often a mere
evidence of respect for the opinion of the world. "The same, perhaps, may
be said of politeness. Be it what it may, however, it is one of the most
agreeable sacrifices of social intercourse. The "old school" seems to
have taken refuge among the Mexicans. They are formally, and I think,
.substantially, the politest people I have met with. Bowing and shaking
hands are common all the World over, and in our country we do it stiffly,
and often gruffly enough. Savages salute one another with a grunt, and
the Chinese touch noses. But, in Mexico, there is something more than
mere nonchalant nods of recognition and farewell. If you enter a Mexi
can's house, there is no rest among the inmates until you are made per
fectly at ease, and your hat and cane taken from you. The lady does
not sit on the sofa — nod when you come in as if it were painful to bend
or rise — talk with you about the weather as if your rheumatisms made
you a species of walking barometer — and then expect you to nod again,
and take yourself off as a bore ; but a frankness and a warmth are im
mediately thrown into the manner of the whole household as soon as you
appear. No matter what they may be engaged in, or how much occu
pied ; all is forgotten in a moment, and they are entirely at your service.
Here, in the United States, I have paid fifteen or twenty visits on a morn
ing with a fashionable lady. To do so in Mexico — a man would be set
down as an oddity. A visit is a visit — it is intended to be something.

MANNERS.

51

People feel that they can see, look at, and pass each other in the street ;
and they think a stare of five minutes from a chair, as meaningless as a
stare on one's legs in the highway. In the saloon, they regard it proper
to devote much time to the interchange of opinions sociably ; and they
look upon indifference or a distrait air, or what would elsewhere be called
fashionable ease, as little better than rudeness.
Upon entering a room, after any unusual absence, if well known to all
the members of a family, you go through the process of an embrace, and
the health and occupations of every member of your family are minutely
and affectionately inquired for. After a while, if there are girls in the
house, a little music will be given, or their drawings, embroidery, or
other pretty works displayed, as you are supposed to have an interest in
such things. And if you are a particular favorite, the lady of the man
sion, who indulges in a cigarritto, will take a delicate one from her golden
etui, light it, touch it to her lips, and present it to you.
At parting, the ceremony is very formal. You bid good-bye with an
embrace, or, if less acquainted, with a profound bow to each individual ;
you turn at the door of the saloon, and bow again ; the master of the house
accompanies you to the head of the stairs, where you shake hands and
bow again ; you look up from the landing of the first flight of stairs, and
find him ready with another ; and as you pass through the court-yard
below, (if he like you, or you happen to be a person of consideration,)
you find him gazing from among the flowers over the balustrade, and still
gracefully nodding farewell! Before this finale it is not very safe to put
on your hat.

4+

LADY 0O1NS TO MASS,

52

MEXICO.

There are few things more beautiful than the salutation of a Mexican
lady. Among themselves they never meet without embracing. But to
men and strangers, on the street, they lift the right hand to near the lips,
gently inclining the head toward it, and gracefully fluttering their fingers,
send forth their recognition with an arch-beaming of the eye that is almost
as bewitching as a kiss.
The universal conclusion of the day with a fashionable lady in Mexico,
is the theatre. She begins with mass, to which she walks in the morning
with her mantilla gracefully draped around her head, and falling in folds
of splendid lace over her breast and shoulders. But the night must end
in full dress at the opera or theatre. It is as regular and as much a
matter of course as her meals.
It is then you may behold the Mexican woman in perfection. And
yet, to confess the truth, I cannot say that they are beautiful according
to our ideas of beauty in the United States.
You do not see those charming skins and rosy complexions, nor do
you observe that variety of tint which springs from the mingling of many
nations on our soil ; but there is, nevertheless, something in Mexican
women, be they fair or dark, that bewitches while you look at them : it is,
perhaps, a universal expression of sweetness and confiding gentleness.
There is not much regularity of features ; no " Attic foreheads and
Phidian noses;" no "rose-bud lips whose kisses pout to leave their nest;''
no majestic symmetry to compel admiration; but their large, magnificent
eyes, where the very soul of tenderness seems to dwell, and their natural
grace, conquer every one. Their gait is slow, stately, majestic.
The commonest woman of the middle ranks you encounter on the
streets, with but a fanciful petticoat, and her shawl or reboso, struts a
queen — her feet small almost" to deformity. Her figure, though full to
embonpoint, you never think too fat ; her lively enthusiasm always seems
tempered and delicately subdued by the softness of her eye, and you
feel that her complexion, sallow or dark as it often is, is yet no more than
" The embrowning of the fruit that tells
How rich within the soul of sweetness dwells.''
I give opposite, sketches of the costume of the lower class of females, as
you see them constantly in the house and on the street, with and without
the shawl, or reboso. Without it the dress is scarcely any dress at all:
one garment — besides a petticoat — braced with a sash around the waist,
while the hair falls in a long plait down the back. With it — their cos
tume is made up. Flung gracefully over the left shoulder and passed
across the mouth — you see nothing but the eyes, which are her greatest
charm, and she never attempts to conceal them or neglect their power.
In speaking of the fine eyes, the beautiful feet, and the queenly tread
of the Mexican ladies, and their costume, I should not forget to mention
that an embroidered India crape shawl, blazing with all the colors of the

MEXICAN BELLES.

53

WITH AND WITHOUT THE REBOSO.

rainbow, and a painted fan, are indispensable portions of a complete dress.
The fan is none of your new-fangled inventions of feather and finery, but
the old-fashioned reed and paper instruments used by our grandmothers.
The opening and shutting — the waving and folding of these is an especial
language. They touch them to their lips — flirt them wide open — close
them — let their bright eyes peep over the rim — display their jewelled hands
and witching eyes, and, in fact, carry on a warfare of graceful coquetry
from behind these pasteboard fortresses, that has forced, ere now, many
a stout heart to cry for quarter !

LETTER X.
THE CITY OF MEXICO.
SENTIMENTAL BUTCHER AND PROFESSIONAL BEGGARS.
It is the custom for most of the small dealers to hawk their wares about
the streets, and indeed, you may thus be supplied with all the necessaries
of life. The aguador brings you water. The butcher sends his ass with
meat. The Indians bring butter, eggs, fruit, and vegetables ; the boat
men, fresh fish from the lake ; and cakes and sweetmeats are carried daily
in trays to your door. There are, nevertheless, a market and stalls, or
small shops in the streets. In a large and poor population like this the
competition must necessarily be very great.
One of the butchers in the Calle Tacuba always amused me. His
shop is about the size of a stall, the whole front being open to the street,
with a fine game-cock, tied by the leg on the sill. Suspended from the ceil
ing, and but two or three feet from the doorway, hangs the entire carcass
of a beef ; at a short distance behind is the counter ; and, in the rear of
this again, is a row of kids and delicate morsels, festooned with gilt pa
per and yards of sausages, hung in the most tasteful lines and curves.
In the centre of this carnal show rests an image of the " Holy Virgin of
Guadalupe," under whose protection he thus places his larder and his
" custom." The most interesting figure, however, in the picture, is the butcher
himself; a sentimental-looking fellow, with black eyes, curling locks,
and altogether a most captivating personage, barring a sort of oily lustre.
that polishes his skin. I invariably find him lounging romantically over
his saw and cleaver, strumming his guitar to half-a-dozen housemaids,
who, doubtless, are attracted to his steaks by his amorous staves. It is
rare to see such a mixture of meat and music. What would be said with
us at home, to see the celebrated Jones or Smith, in the Fulton market,
mounted on his block, with a blue ribbon about his neck, and a dozen
damsels grouped around him, listening, with rapt air, to the pet morceau
of the last opera ! Yet the suggestion might be useful in these days,
when invention is taxed to the utmost for new modes of attracting the
people. In Mexico at any rate it is characteristic, and I have, therefore,
noted it.

THE OLD liECUAR.

BEGGARS. 55
Go where you will in this city, you are haunted by beggars. Beg
gary is a profession ; but it is not carried to quite the extent that it is in some
of the Italian States, and especially the Sicilian dominions.
The capital employed in this business is blindness, a sore leg, a de
crepit father or mother, or a helpless child ; in the latter case, a stout
hearty boy usually straps the feeble one on his back, and runs after ev
ery passer beseeching succor. With such a stock in trade, and a good
sunny corner, or wall of a church door, the petitioner is set up for life.
Placed in so eligible a situation, their cry is incessant from morning
to night: "Sefiores amicos, por el amor de dios ;" "for the love of the
blessed Virgin !" " by the precious blood of Christ !" " by the holy mys
tery of the Trinity !" repeated with many variations between their eter
nal scratchings, winking of lids over sightless balls, and the display
of maimed limbs and every species of personal deformity. There is no
" poor-house" in Mexico, to which such vagrant wretches are forced to go.
One blind beggar, remarkably well dressed, and a person who has evi
dently enjoyed better fortunes, takes up his place on the seat around the
chief fountain of the Alameda, every day at noon, and is attended by a
couple of servants ; his respectful demeanor is, doubtless, a valuable capital.
Another beggar has a burly porter to carry him seated in a chair on his
back. Then there are silent beggars — "poveri vergognosi," — as you see in
Italy ; men who make no oral demand for charity, but crook their bodies,
and bow their concealed faces, in such a shape of interrogative supplica
tion, that the heart must be hard that could resist them. One of this spe
cies particularly arrested my notice. I never met him by daylight, and
he may not have been what he appeared to be ; but often at midnight,
when returning from the theatre, I have encountered him, cold and shiv
ering under the portales. He seemed to be at least 80 years of age ; was
bent almost double, had a shocking bad cough, and squeaked out in the
most piping treble you ever heard, that " he was just waiting for some one
to take him home." He had been waiting thus for many a year !
They all have different voices according to the length of time they have
been employed. There are your old sturdy beggars who bellow out their
ritual ; then the modest novice ; then an old fellow who never utters a
distinct word, but rolls on ihe ground and howls, as if with pain ; the while
his eyes glance from right to left to see how it operates ! Near my dwel
ling, at a church door, always sat a gray-headed blind man, who was as
much a fixture as one of the pillars of the edifice. The oldest neighbors
could not remember when he first came there. He usually arrived about
noon, as soon as the shadow of the church fell over his wonted seat and
afforded shade. He begged stoutly for an hour or so, when a daughter
brought him an excellent warm dinner. This dispatched, he went to work
again with the " por el amor de dios," until he literally sang himself into
a siesta. Yet the ruling passion never deserted him even in sleep. His

56 MEXICO.
head nodded, but his open and outstretched palm rested on his knee— a
permanent money-box !
Although exhibitions like this are enough to shut the heart in a coun
try where the earth yields almost for the asking, yet there are cases of
misery that do not appeal in vain.
A poor little beggar-boy attracted my attention by haunting the door of
the Gran Sociedad. We noticed him first by seeing something coiled up
in the corner of the portal, which looked like a dirty puppy dog, shiver
ing with the cold. Slowly, however, at our approach, it unwound itself
from the lair, and a poor little boy tottered toward us with the most
wan and wretched look I ever beheld, and the most beautiful black eyes
that ever appealed for charity. He was a personification of poor Oli
ver Twist — a perfect little atomy. We gave him a real, and he trotted
off delighted; yet his feeble limbs, around which there was scarcely any
clothing, refused to carry him twenty steps : he tottered and fell against
the wall to which he clung for support. I went to him again : " Muero
de los frios, sefior," — I am dying of the chills, said he, in his little piping
voice, rendered almost inarticulate from pain, accompanied by that slow
motion of the head from side to side indicative of suffering.
We put a small blanket over him, gave him shoes and food, and thus
strengthened and warmed, he gradually reached home.
The next day he made his appearance again, without shoes, shirt, or
blanket, and with no covering but his ragged trowsers of cotton, tied
across his shoulder with a piece of twine, and an old handkerchief about
his neck. It was decided that he was a professional beggar, and his
pains were but capital acting.
I did not think so, however ; and while others speedily rejected him, I
determined to satisfy myself that a human being would voluntarily starve
himself until the bones peered through his shrunken skin, before I would
deny the sufferer the comfort of a daily morsel. Upon inquiry, I found
that his story was true : that he was the only child of a bed-ridden mother,
who, confined with rheumatism to a mat stretched on the earthen floor of
a hovel in the suburb, had been unable to provide food for herself or
her son for more than a month. Besides this, the urchin had sold the
shoes and blanket we had given him to buy bread for his parent.
He was a regular pensioner afterward, and his mother recovered.
The last time I saw him was in the Alameda, to which he had crawled,
saying that the "sunshine felt so comfortable, and that in its broad walks
he did not suffer so much from the 'frios.' "
For a long period, after this, I missed the urchin, and knew not what
had become of him ; until one afternoon passing the wall of the convent
of Santa Clara, I saw a man trotting along at the usual Indian gait, with
a tray on his head which appeared to be covered with roses. Behind
him was a ragged Upera, in tears, with her long black hair hanging over
her shoulders. As the man passed me, I looked into the tray and found
it contained a corpse. Tt was that of a child who had died of consump-

THEDEADBOY. 57
tion. The flesh, worn to the utmost emaciation, was stretched tightly
over the prominent bones ; his little hands were bound over his breast,
with a single thread of gold, in the attitude of prayer ; the body was sprin
kled with faded artificials, and its mouth was perked up, and its lips
parted, as if the sufferer had died with a wail of pain.
It was my little beggar-boy. The "frios" had been too much for him.

LETTER XI.

A BULL FIGHT.

I was told after my arrival in Mexico, that unless I remained some
time I was likely to lose the three great " amusements " of Mexico, to
wit : a Revolution — an Earthquake — and a Bull Fight. The two former
I would gladly have dispensed with ; and as to the latter, civilization had
recently introduced the Opera, and the cadenzas of Italian vocalists had
been substituted for the roars of the dying bull.
But I was to be gratified by the sight of at least one of these recrea
tions. A fight came off rather unexpectedly in the Plaza de Toros, an im
mense circus, erected when this sport was in its palmy days in Mexico.
It was Sunday, and the people were unoccupied. The idlers had a
few spare medios, picked up by toil, beggary or pilfering, during the week,
and, as to the rich, it was expected that of course they would be gratified
by the sight of an exhibition from which they had been long debarred.
I have a great objection to all these brutal displays, but I hold it to be
a man's duty to see a specimen of everything in the course of his life.
In Europe I went to see dissections and the guillotine, and on that princi.
pie, in Mexico I went to a bull fight.
The expectations of the projectors of the day's sport were not disap
pointed. The two tiers of boxes and the circle below of this immense
theatre, were filled to the very brim of the arena with not less than eight
thousand men, women and children. The hour of opening was four
o'clock — the day warm and cloudless — and the sun shone brightly over
the motley assemblage in their gay and varied costumes. The sunny
side of the edifice was devoted to the plebs — the other half to the patri
cians, or half-a-dollar payers, who thereby enjoyed the luxury of shade.
We arrived too late to see the entrance of the first bull — he was already
in the arena, and the picadors were goading him with their long lances,
while the six gayly-dressed, lithe and active matadors teased him with
red cloaks, which they flirted within a few feet of his horns, and enabled
them, as he sprung to gore the garment, to display their agility in avoid
ing the deadly blow of his horns.

ABULLFIGHT. 59
After annoying him thus with cloaks and lances for about ten minutes,
a trumpet was sounded ; and immediately a dozen banderillos, or small
lances, covered with gilt and flowered paper, were stuck in his neck,
making him bound with rage at the assailant as he felt every new sting
of the cruel weapons.
This done, the crowd circled around, and he stood in the midst, snort
ing, pawing the earth, veering his head from one portion of the ring
to the other, beholding everywhere an armed foe pointing at him with a
lance, and howling as if to dare them to attack. But he was effectually
tamed. Another blast from the trumpet, and two of the matadors approached
stealthily from the rear, and plunged lances surrounded with fireworks,
into the skin of his neck. Snorting, roaring, blazing, cracking, he
bounded over the arena lashing himself with his tail, and dashing, with
out purpose, at everything.
At the third blast of the trumpet, the chief matador, who now made his
first appearance, stepped forth, and proceeded to the judge's gallery for
the sword, to dispatch the animal. By this time the fireworks had burned
out, and the bull had been teased toward the southern barricade of the
theatre. Panting with fatigue, rage and exhaustion, he stood at bay.
The matador (an Andalusian, in pumps, silk stockings, and a tight-fitting
purple dress, embroidered with bugles,) was a person of herculean frame,
and his manly form, in the perfection of human beauty and strength,
contrasted finely with the huge mass of bone and muscle in the beast.
He wound his red cloak around the short staff which he held in his
left hand, and approached the bull, grasping in his right his well-poised
sword. The bull, worried by the red cloak, bounded at him. As the
animal stooped to gore, the matador leapt to the left with the bound of a
deer, and receiving the beast with the whole shock of his weight and
spring on the point of his weapon, passed it through his heart, and laid
him dead without a struggle at his feet. The circus rang with applause
at the successful stroke. Drawing out his blade, black with blood, the
matador wiped it on the cloak, and bowing to the multitude, restored it to
the judge.
The trumpet sounded again : a rope was noosed around the beast's
horns, three gayly-caparisoned horses were led in, the carcass was hitched
to them, and, at another blast of the trumpet they dragged the body, at
full gallop, out of the circus. A shovel-full of fresh earth was thrown
over the pool of blood ; the trumpet was again sounded ; the eastern bar
ricade thrown open, and in bounded the second bull.
Almost blinded by his sudden plunge into daylight from the utter dark
ness of his den, and astounded by the shouts and jeers of the spectators,
he rushed to the centre of the arena, and paused. His head wandered
from side to side, as if seeking for something at which to tilt. He pawed
the earth, lashed his back with his tail, and was evidently "game."

6f) MEXICO.
In a moment, the three picadors were at him with their long lances;
and, in the next, two of them were rolling in the dust, and trampled by
the savage beast. This brought applause from the multitude ; and an
honest Irishman near me shouted, at the top of his lungs, "bravo, bull!"
The matadors, however, were instantly at him with their red cloaks,
and distracting his attention from the fallen picadors, gave them time to
rise and mount— at least one of them, I should say, for the horse of the
other had been gored in the stomach, and as he rose, his entrails trailed
along the ground !
The usual routine was gone through with this bull as with the first;
and at length the trumpet sounded for the chief matador to receive the
sword. But this was evidently not an animal to be trifled with; and the
courageous Andalusian approached him warily. As he came up with
the bull, the beast was near the edge of the barricade, and foaming
with rage. His hair was yet blazing from the explosion of the crackers.
The Andalusian flirted the red cloak in his eyes, and, turning as usual
to the right to give the blow as the animal sprang, he lucklessly missed
his aim, and was caught at a yard's distance between the palisade and
the beast. A bound over the inclosure saved him, while the bull's horns
were driven against the boards, with a force that made the theatre ring
and the strong timbers quiver.
Directly, however, was the stout-hearted fighter again on the sands and
taunting his foe. Another spring — another wave of the cloak in the
beast's eyes — and his sword was plunged up to the hilt in his neck, the
point penetrating the skin and hair and shining out on his other side, just
above the right shoulder. Yet the wound was not fatal, and the beast
bounded on madder than ever. A picador came at him, and was tram-
pled in the dust. Another came on, and his horse, too, was tossed in the
air ; yet, preserving his balance, he alighted on his feet, and as his horse
rose from his fall, he rose with him, seated on his saddle ; at the same
time, with admirable presence of mind, slinging his lasso, which caught
on one horn but unfortunately slipped off. Unsuccessful as was this act,
the self-command, the horsemanship, and the graceful skill of the picador,
brought down a storm of applause.
Meantime, the Andalusian had recovered his wind, and was ready for
another attack on his unconquered foe ; but this time he made the attack
unarmed. Mad as the animal was, and goaded by the lances sticking in
his back, his skin scorched, and the weapon thrust through his body, yet the
matador approached bravely ; he threw his cloak once more on the beast's
eyes, and, with a leap over his horns as he stooped, caught the handle of
the sword and drew it out streaming with blood.
What with annoyance, and exhaustion from the loss of blood, the bull's
strength was by this time well nigh spent. He made for the door in the
barricade whence he had been admitted to the arena. He paused at the
gate— the blood pouring from his wound. It was evident he was dying,

A BULL FIGHT. 61
and all attacks were at once abandoned. He had fought so bravely that
picadors, matadors, coleadors, and all the troop of the arena drew round
him in a circle, as if to look on the death-struggle of a hero. All seemed
struck with admiration ! the leperos in the galleries, even, were hushed to
profound silence.
The bull stood a moment as if uncertain what to do. I confess that the
poor wretch seemed to me to possess intellect — an intellect, stung by the
reproach of strength foiled by an inferior and despised foe.
He felt his limbs grow feebler. He attempted to run, but his legs re
fused to move. He lifted his feet convulsivly — waved his tail — opened his
eyes as if alarmed by a sudden nervous fear, and fixed them with a fierce
stare on the blood which was pouring in a stream before him. He tried
to run ; reeled twice, but recovered his balance. A matador then came
again before him with his cloak and a short dagger, to put an end to the
painful scene ; but as he approached, the beast swayed himself forward
with his lips drawn -up, and the foam covering his teeth — drew himself up
still and stiff as a statue, for a dying effort of power — then suddenly
bending his head to the earth, sprang at the matador and fell dead —
" Foiled, breathless, bleeding, furious — to the last !"
********
This was the best fight of the evening. Five more bulls were brought
out, but nearly all proved craven. None, however, were killed by the
matador at the first blow, which rather lowered the mob's opinion of
his skill. Some of the animals were caught by the tail, which, twisted
around the high pommel of the saddles of the coleadors, while their
horses were brought to a sudden halt, threw the bulls on their sides.
These, however, were the utter cowards. Others were caught with the
lasso around the horns or heels, and I had thus the first opportunity of
seeing the perfection obtained by most Mexican horsemen in the use of
this useful instrument. One of the bulls bounded over the palisade,
among the spectators, within a few feet of me ; but he was so contemptible
a beast, that he seemed more pleased to get rid of the crowd than the
crowd was to get rid of him. He was of course sacrificed in some very
ignoble manner.
As the evening sports ended, and even before sunset, the moon rose
in her calm majesty, casting her mild light on the multitude in that bloody
circus. The towers and dome of a church overlook the walls of the arena
on the east, and the bells called the crowd from that scene of carnage on
the Sabbath evening, to the adjacent retreat of peacefulness and religion !
As I went home, I could not help asking myself, if I had spent those hours
profitably 1 It is true that there are " sermons in stones, and good in
everything ;" and the contrast of life and death — the passage of a crea
ture from robust and active health, and the full enjoyment of every phys
ical power, to death and utter oblivion — was, it is equally true, a sermon
and a lesson. But lo how many 1 Was there a lepero there, who went
away taught, thoughtful or moralizing ?

62 MEXICO.
I must confess, that I can regard these festivals but with a feeling of
unqualified disgust, both at the scene itself, and at the gradual destruc
tion of the finer sentiments which such exhibitions, frequently repeated
before all classes, must inevitably produce.
When the Romans had exhausted the whole round of natural amuse
ments, they invented those of the circus ; and, not contented with the civi
lized butchery of the brute creation, in process of time they matched man
against beast, and man against man. It was the extreme of refinement —
the height of expensive luxury — the termination of that vicious circle of
society, where civilization merges into barbarism. It was an omen of
the speedy decline of that mighty empire.
The exhibition of the slaughter-house, as a sport, can tend alone to
foster a brutal passion for blood. Death becomes familiarized as a play
thing to the multitude. They make a clown of the grim monster. They
put him as a joker on the arena for Sabbath sports ; and the day that is
assigned as a period of repose, thankfulness, love, and remembrance of
the blessed God, is converted into a school-time of the worst passions that
can afflict and excite the human heart.
It may be said, that this is not true of all classes. I grant it, and reply
that although all classes visit the circus, yet the majority of the spec
tators is doubtless composed of the lowest ranks, requiring most moral in
struction, and least addicted to reasoning. With such a population as that
of the leperos of Mexico, (men scarcely a remove from the beasts whose
slaughter they gloat on,) these scenes of murder, in which bulls, matadors
and picadors, are often indiscriminately slain, can only serve to nourish
the most wicked passions, and to nerve the ignorant and vile to deeds of
most daring criminality.
It will be a matter of sincere congratulation, for Mexican patriots, when
this remnant of barbarism is abolished in their country, and the thousands
which are annually expended in bull-fights throughout the Republic, are
devoted to the education or rational amusement of the people.

LETTER XII.

THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE AND HER FESTIVAL.

The 12th of December is the Festival of the " Virgin of Guadalupe,"
(the Patron Saint of Mexico ;) and as the history of this personage, and
the ceremonies in her honor are rather singular ; and the shrine where
she is worshipped is one of the most magnificent in the Republic, I will
give you some account of them.
The church lies about three miles from the city, at the foot of the
Sierra that rises from the plain on the north. The great Collegiate
edifice is built on the level ground ; but the ancient, and I believe the
original chapel, is on the top of an adjacent hill. The collection of
buildings, devoted to this saint, form a little village of themselves, in
dependently of the small town, which has grown up in the process of
time from the pickings and pilgrimages to the sacred shrine.
On the day in question, thousands went out to the church from the city
of Mexico. From early in the morning, the magnificent paved road,
built to this spot, in the palmy days of the Spanish Empire, was cov
ered with foot-passengers, horsemen, leperos, Indians, grandees in their
sumptuous coaches, and in fact by all the population of the town, who
could either walk, or afford to ride at their own or others' cost. Not a
vehicle was to be had in the Capital for love or money, unless begged or
hired on the preceding day.
I went rather late, and found the churches crammed to suffocation;
while the Archbishop recited mass, and the President and the high officers
of state, seated under a canopy of crimson velvet, in the main body of
the building, assisted in the service.
A large portion of the crowd was composed of leperos, in their greasy
blankets; and from far and wide in the Department of Mexico, and even
from some others, thousands of Indians had come to the festival, with
their wives and children. In such a orowd, on a rather warm day, and in
a church of ordinary size, you will readily agree with me that the odor
was not exactly that of attar of roses — consequently I left them to their
devotions ; and, with a friend, betook myself to the open air and a sur
vey of the premises.

64 MEXICO.
Yet this could scarcely be called an escape : the crowd without seemed
quite as great as that within. In the Plaza, over part of which an awning
was spread for a procession at the close of the ceremonies, the Indians
had erected booths where they displayed their wares, and were driving a
profitable trade in trinkets, pictures of saints, &c. ; a mode of speculation
which they imitated from the priesthood, who, at the doors of the churches,
likewise carried on a brisk business in selling to the faithful slips of crim
son ribbon, about two feet long, with a pious inscription, and medals of the
Holy Virgin, for sixpence a-piece. I bought one, and passed on.
In the shops around the square were all the unoccupied Mexicans.
The church was too small to contain them, and they were necessarily
forced to retire to these establishments ; where, with their donzellas of the
reboso, they luxuriated on lemonade, oranges, and sweet biscuits, varying
their food and flirtations with a choice cigarrito.
At the distance of about two hundred yards from the main edifice, an-
other chapel is erected over a spring of mineral water. This is regarded
as a " holy well ;" and part of the ceremonial, upon this occasion, is to dip
the fingers in the sacred stream, and to make with it a sign of the cross on
brow and breast. In all such seasons, none are of course more devout
and more conscientious in the performance of this duty than the Indians,
They believe that the Virgin herself has specially consecrated the wa
ter ; and the consequence is, that a simple dip is by no means sufficient.
I suppose there could not have been less than three thousand of these In
dians in the village, half of whom were constantly pressing, squeezing,
shouting, with their women by their sides, and their children, in full squall,
strapped to their backs ; all struggling, either to approach or leave the
well. Not satisfied, however, with a dip in the water, they felt it to
be a religious duty to wash ; and as so many thousands were paddling
in maudlin devotion, the well became necessarily fouled, notwithstand
ing its sacredness. In addition to this, as all could not reach the foun
tain itself, multitudes were obliged to content themselves with the refuse
that drained along the gutters, after having served for the ablutions of the
more fortunate. The consequence was, that a more besmeared set of
wretches was never displayed, than when the Indians completed their pious
lustrations toward evening. But even this did not exhaust their craving
appetites for the sacred water ; and every one who could buy, borrow, steal,
or own a vessel, capable of containing liquids, bore it with him to his
distant home full of the turbid flood. It was a panacea for many an ill,
and perhaps superior in efficacy to a " blessed candle !"
From the door of the edifice over the well, a steep stairway strikes up
the hill side of Tepeyac, to a church on the summit ; and to this, it is the
duty of all to perform a pilgrimage in tire course of the day. I followed
the steps of the multitude ; but as the church was crowded even more
densely with natives than the edifice below, I refrained from entering,
and sat down on a pile of stones to enjoy a charming view of the Valley

LEGEND OF THE VIRGIN. 65
and lakes, slumbering in the misty sunshine, as beautiful as the days of
our Indian summer.
The steps and walls that led to this shrine were once in perfect order ;
but the mountain chapel has been neglected, and suffered to decay since
the holy picture was placed in the edifice on the plain, where the padres
are more comfortably nestled than on the spot of the miraculous gift.
As I gazed down from this elevation, I was struck with the appearance
of a curious towering mass of brick and mortar, half way up the hill,
that looked in the distance like a sail. Upon inquiry, I learned the fol
lowing story of its erection.
Many years ago, while a wealthy Mexican was at sea, returning from
Old Spain, a violent storm arose, which threatened his vessel with im
minent danger. The gale grew gradually stronger ; the vessel leaked ;
every sail was lost, and hope herself seemed to have deserted the ill-starred
bark, when the Mexican bethought him of the patron Virgin of his
native land. In a moment he was on his knees, with a prayer and a vow to
Guadalupe — a vow, that if she listened and saved, he would build in
Mexico another temple to her glory ! The wind lulled — the sea became '
calm — a friendly vessel hove in sight — and the drowning crew was
rescued. But with the calm, the worshipper's fervor also relaxed ; and on his re
turn, instead of bestowing thousands in the adornment of at least a costly
altar to the Virgin, he compromised the matter, by the erection of the
semblance of a sail in brick and mortar on the ascending wall side !
Whether he ever trusted himself at sea again after such faithlessness,
the legend does not tell !
While recounting the stories of this spot, it would be improper to omit
the legend of the Virgin herself; and in order that it may come with due
authority, and not rest alone upon hearsay, I translate the anecdote from
a sermon of the Illustrious Cardinal de Lorenzano, Archbishop of Mex
ico, preached by him in the Collegiate church in 1760.
" In the year 1531, ten years and four months after the conquest of
Mexico, the Holy Virgin of Guadalupe appeared on the mountain of Te-
peyac. The matter occurred thus: On the 9th of December of that
year the adventurous Indian, Juan Diego, a native of Quatititlan, went to
Tlaltelolco to study the Christian doctrine, inasmuch as it was there taught
by certain holy Franciscan monks. Passing by the mountain, the Most
Holy Virgin appeared, and told him to go, in her name, to the Illustrious
Bishop Don Francisco Juan de Zummarraga, and say that she desired
him to come and worship on that spot. On the 10th of the same month
Juan Diego returned to the mountain, and the Holy Virgin again ap
peared, asking him the result of his commission. Diego replied, that
notwithstanding his efforts, he could not obtain admission to the Bishop.
Then, the Virgin answered, 'Return, and tell him that I, Mary the
Mother of God, have sent you !' Juan Diego carefully executed the
5

66 MEXICO.
order, but the Seiior Zummarraga refused him credence : his only re
ply being, that he must have some token to satisfy him of the verity of
the annunciation. Again Juan Diego returned to the mountain with this
message of the Bishop, and delivered it to the Holy Virgin, who appeared
to him on the 12th of December for the third time. She ordered him then
to ascend the mountain of Tepeyac, cut roses and bring them to her.
The humble and happy messenger went, notwithstanding he knew full
well that on the mountain there were not only no roses, but no vegetation
of any kind. Nevertheless, he found the flowers and brought them to
Mary ! She threw them in the tilma (a part of Indian dress) and said to
him, ' Return once more to the Bishop and tell him that these flowers are
the credentials of your mission.' Accordingly, Juan Diego immediately
departed for the episcopal residence, which, it is said, was then in the
house called the Hospital del Amor de Dios ; and when he found himself
in the presence of the prelate, he unfolded his tilma to present the roses,
when, lo ! there appeared on ihe rude garment that blessed picture of th
Virgin, which now after centuries still exists, without having suffered the
slightest injury ! Then the illustrious Bishop took the image, and placed
it in his oratory. It is now, in this Collegiate church. The Virgin ap-
peared again, a fourth time, to the Indian. She then restored to health
his uncle, named Juan Bernardino, and told Diego — ' The image on thy
tilma I wish called ihe Virgin of Guadalupe !' "
Such is the story given of the sacred portrait, the original of which
presides over the destinies of Mexico ; whose name — " Maria de Guada
lupe" — is given to one half the females of the Republic, and whose shrine
is one of the wealthiest in the world. A copy of this picture is hung in
every dwelling in Mexico, a household god, as dearly cherished as the
little clay images were by the ancient Indians. The motto beneath, " Non
fecit taliter omni Nationi," is full of pride and consolation.
Toward the close of the services in the church the crowd became less
dense, and I ventured within. For the last half hour 1 obtained a good
stand directly in front of the position occupied by General Santa Anna,
and an opportunity was thus afforded me of seeing him at his devotions.
The same refinement of manner, easy grace, and perfect decorum which
characterize the well-bred Mexicans in their dwellings, adhere to them in
church ; and the President and his little military court fully sustained
upbn that occasion the reputation of their countrymen.
That night I saw him again at a ball given by General Valencia, in
honor of his wife; who, being named "Maria de Guadalupe," enjoys this
as her festal day as well as the saint. The ball, the music, the style, and
the supper were all excellent ; and although I went with a headache at
ten, I did not leave the cheerful walls of the General until the " small
hours" of next morning. This ball and supper, I was told by those who
prepared it, cost our host the sum of near four thousand dollars; and
from this, you may form an opinion of the extravagance of living and

IMAGE OF THE VIRGIN. 67
luxuries in Mexico. A similar entertainment could have been given in
the United States for less than five hundred.

Some time after the visit to Guadalupe, of wViich the above is a sketch,
I drove out again on a quiet day when there was no ceremonial, to see
the establishment undisturbed and at leisure. The capellan politely
offered to show us over the edifice, and point out the various objects of
interest. He took us first to the sacristy, where are found some badly painted
pictures and tinsel figures ; and thence to the main body of the church,
which, in architectural proportion and chasteness of adornment, is the
neatest I have seen in Mexico. The ornaments are all green and gold,
on a white polished surface, and have just been renewed.
Candles were lighted in front of the miraculous portrait of the Virgin ;
the capellan knelt for a moment before it, and then drawing aside a
curtain, displayed the picture itself.

THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUFE.

The altar at the north end, and the canopy and pillars around it, are of
the finest marbles. Above it, in a frame of solid gold, covered with a
crystal plate, is the figure of the Virgin painted on the Indian's tilma, as
represented in the preceding cut. On each side of the image, within the
frame and extending its whole length, are strips of gold literally crusted
with emeralds, diamonds and pearls. At the feet of the figure there are
again large clusters of the same costly gems. From each side of the frame
5*

68 MEXICO.
issues a circle of golden rays, while above it, as if floating in the air,
hangs the figure of a dove, of solid silver, as large as an eagle !
Descending from the altar, you lean on a rail of gilded silver. The
massive candlesticks, and all the stands and reading-desks are of sil
ver, as is also a score of figures, some three feet high, for lamps and
torches. \
From the front of the altar to the body of the church, in which are placed
the choir and organ, there is another silver hand-rail and balustrade on
both sides of the central aisle. The choir is of a dark rich wood, covered
with the most exquisite carvings, in high relief, of passages in the life of
our Saviour, and its gates are beautifully inlaid with silver. The seats
of the clergymen rise above each other in a double row, and in the centre
stands a massive reading-desk, most gorgeously wrought of the precious
metal. To the left of the altar, a chapel, containing a collection of sacred relics,
branches off from the main edifice. The whole eastern end of this is a
blaze of crystal and gilded carvings, 'piled up to the lofty arched roof;
while on the steps are two tall India jars, that would make in Europe the
fortune of a china hunter.
As I left the door of this apartment, I noticed a recently painted pic
ture, or rather frame of pictures. It represented a series of miracles
wrought by the Virgin within the last ten years. First, a husband had
stabbed his wife, and yet, by a prayer to the Saint, she was healed:
Second, a child, who had fallen from a window, was miraculously pre
served by her intervention : Third, a woman, passing through a wood,
encountered a robber, who attempted to force her ; yet, an opportune
ejaculation to Guadalupe winged her feet, and she escaped: Fourth,
a man was thrown from his horse, and saved : Fifth, a carriage passed
over another harmlessly : And Sixth, the Virgin saved a woman from
being gored by a bull.
As I passed around the church, I saw a variety of similar mementoes
hung upon the walls — little pictures of sick women — of others praying-
silver arms and legs, and even little waxen ones. In one place I noticed
two braids of hair ; the vow, doubtless of some poor Indian, and perhaps
her most precious gift. I was told in Mexico, by a person who has seen
it, that the native Indians at times come to this shrine, and play before
the Virgin's image on their drums and flageolets.
As I passed through the door, I encountered a lepero-looking fellow,
who, on one side, offered me a ticket in the " Lottery of the Virgin," while
on the other, a servitor of the church held out a stock of red ribbons
" with the measure of the Virgin's hands," and metal medals of Guada
lupe. The latter I thought a better investment than the lottery; and
buying one, which I dipped in the blessed well, I keep it as a memento
of the visit and the spot.
For the curious in such matters, I give the original of a Sonnet and
Verses— and the promise of Indulgences, in honor of the Virgin :

SONNET— INDULGENCES,

69

A MARIA SANTISIMA DE GUADALUPE.

SONETO.

E,

isa GUADALUPANA encantadora,
Madre del Hombre Dios y tambien mia,
Baj6 del cielo al Tepeyac un dia
Para ser nuestra insigne Bienhechora.
A la presencia de tan Gran Senoka
Fug6 la sanguinaria Idolatria,
Como la pavorosa Noche humbria
A los primeros rasgos de la Aurora.
Al Dios Huitziloposili destrozaron ;
Los demas Idolillos demolieron ;
Y A. Jesus en sus templos colocaron :
Los Pueblos a su voz se convirtieron ;
Y cuanto en la Conquista les quitaron :
En tres centurias por MARIA obtuvieron.

En tres siglos cuantas cosas
El tiempo cruel devor6 !....
Los montes ; los altos montes
Mudaron de situacion.
Solo esa copia divina
Cual el dia en que se form<5
Permanece en un Ayate ;
Como que es obra de Dios.
A su Madre, Esposa e Hija
Por si mismo la pintd,
Donandola i los Indianos
En prueba fiel de su amor.

Esto ciertamente no Jiizo
Con ninguna otra nacion :
Bendito sea una y mil veces
Por tan insigne favor.
De"mosle todos las gracias,
Y sea la iluminacion,
Las salvas y los repiques,
Y los ^cos del tambor :
La prueba de nuestro afecto ;
Y un indicio de que en nos
Nunca entibiard, el impfo
La pristina devocion.

Se suplica el adorno & iluminacion en el Novenario ; y se advierte a los fieles que los
Hlmos. Sres. Obispos de Puebla y Tarazona, concedieron 80 dias de indulgencia en
cada cuarto de hora en que dichas Imagenes se espongan ; y por cada Ave Maria que
se rezare delante de cualquiera de elias 500 dias : lo mismo se gana diciendo Ave Ma
ria, 6 solicitando devotos.=Ultimamente, el Illmo. Sr. D. Fr. Jose" Maria de Jesus Be-
launzardn por si, y los IUmos. Sres. Obispos actuales de Puebla, Michoacan, Jalisco y
Durango eoncedid 200 dias de indulgencia por cada palabra de 16s devocionavios de la
Sma. Sra. ; por cada paso que se diere en su obsequio ; por cada una de las reverencias
que se le hagan ; y por cada palabra de la misa que en su obsequio el sacerdote y los
oyentes digeren. Otros tantos dias concede por cada cuarto de hora en que se espongan ,
las Efigies en los balcones, ventanas e puertas para la adoracion publica.

LETTER XIII.
COURT CEREMONIES. GENERAL SANTA ANNA. DIPLOMATIC DINNER.
For some time after the installation of General Santa Anna as Pro.
visional President of Mexico, under the system known in the political
history of that country as the " Plan of Tacubaya,"* a difficulty existed
between the Government, and Ministers of- foreign nations, as to the eti
quette which was to be observed on public occasions when it became neces
sary for them to meet ceremoniously. To such an extent had this variance
of established rules been carried, that upon the consecration of the present
Archbishop, the Envoy from France deemed it proper to mark his disap
probation, by retiring with his legation from the Cathedral.
These matters, which to us republicans seemed of no very great mo.
ment except as they had been rendered so by the Mexicans themselves,
were, however, at length satisfactorily arranged ; and on the first of Jan
uary, 1842, the members of the different missions were invited to meet
the President in the morning, for the purpose of exchanging the usual
courtesies of the day, and to partake of a dinner in the evening. This
invitation was sent with all due form through his Excellency, Mr. De
Bocanegra, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. As the system of entertain
ment at table is quite a novelty in Mexican diplomacy, the invitation was
entirely unexpected ; and it was hailed by the whole corps as indicative of
an agreeable change in our future intercourse.
Accordingly at noon on the first of January, the diplomatic body, in
full uniform, met at the apartments of the Minister of Foreign Relations
in the Palace. Here again, some trifling question of etiquette was started
relative to the precedence of the Archbishop, which being arranged, the
corps, as soon as it had been joined by the Ministers of State, Was ush
ered to the hall of audience by an aid-de-camp of the President. Passing
* The revolution of 1841, after several fruitless battles, in which victory seems to have crowned neither side.
and several as fruitless interviews of the Chiefs and messengers of the different parties, was at length terminated
by a meeting of commanding officers at Tacubaya on the 28th of September, when a plan was agreed upon and
signed by 191 persons, by means of which the existing Constitution of Mexico was superseded. By this system,
or Plan of Tacubaya." consisting of 13 articles, a general amnesty was proclaimed-a call of a new Con
gress to form a Constitution agreed upon-and a Junta, created, to be named by the General in Chief of the
Army. The Junta was to elect the Provisional President, who, by the 7th article, was clothed "with all tin
powers necessary to reorganize the nation and all the branfhes of administration ,¦" or, in other words, with
supreme power. That General was Santa Anna. He selected Ore Junta, and the Junta returned the compli
ment by selecting him .'

AUDIENCE OF THE PRESIDENT. 71
along several balconies hung against the wall of the inner court-yard, we
soon reached an antechamber filled with all the chief personages, both
military and civil, of the Republic, and we were at once conducted
to the reception-room. This is a large and newly furnished apartment,
plainly painted in fresco ; its walls are hung with ordinary oil pictures of
the history of Napoleon, and the floor is covered with a rather common
carpet. At the south end of the room a Chair of State, with the flags and arms
of Mexico richly embroidered in gold and colors on its velvet cushions,
was placed for the President, under a canopy of crimson edged with gold.
On either side of this, against the wall, were chairs for the four Ministers,
and, immediately in front of the President's seat, running the length of
the room, beneath the great chandelier, were ranged two rows of chairs
facing each other, for the diplomatic corps. Here we took our stand,
according to the rank and length of residence of the respective Envoys
in the country.
In a few moments, the Ministers of State (who had retired after we
were placed,) entered from a room behind the audience-chamber, and
were directly followed by General Santa Anna, in the full uniform of the
Chief of the Army — blue and red, richly embroidered with gold. You
are aware, that at the battle of Vera Cruz with the French, in the year
1838, one of his legs was shattered by a cannon-ball, as he pursued the
enemy on their retreat to their boats. The limb was badly amputated,
and of course he limps along on a wooden substitute, with the aid of a
cane. But the defect does not take from the dignity and manliness of his
air and carriage.
He advanced to his chair under the canopy ; his Ministers placed them
selves on either side of him, and the room, which had hitherto been only
occupied by ourselves, was, at a signal to the aid-de-camp in waiting,
filled with a brilliant cortege of officers in full dress uniforms.
As soon as silence and order were obtained, the President bowed grace
fully to us, and received an obeisance in return. Mr. Pakenham, the
British Envoy, as the oldest resident Minister, then advanced, and in the
name of the diplomatic body, made an address of congratulation in Spanish.
The General listened with attention and interest, and when the Minister
had concluded, replied briefly, but with considerable hesitation of manner
and an awkward twisting of his cane and chapeau, showing that he was,
at least on that occasion, more of the soldier than the speaker. As he
seated himself after concluding his reply, he motioned us to our chairs,
while the rest of the spectators still remained standing. A short conver
sation then followed between him, Mr. Pakenham, and Mr. Oliver, the
Spanish Envoy, who were immediately in front of him ; and at the first
pause we rose, advanced to him singly and bowed ; walking slowly to the
door at the north end of the apartment, we turned on its sill and bowed
again, both of the salutations being gracefully returned by him : and thus
ended the morning visit of ceremonious congratulation !

72 MEXICO.
I have been so minute in repeating to you the details of this cere-
mony, not because I deem any account of bows and formal speeches
interesting to a reader ; but because such a scene has occurred in a
Republic, before the President of a Republic, and in a National Palace
surrounded with soldiery, amid the beating of drums, the braying of trum
pets, and all the paraphernalia of a court. Such a detail sounds oddly to
one who — entering a door often opened without a porter — passing through
no lines of grim guards — amid no military pomp or parade — approaches
the President of our own more favored land, and finds him seated in his
plain parlor, by a comfortable grate, habited in neat but homely dress ;
and ready, without ceremony, to grasp your hand and welcorne you to his
fireside.

We left the Palace at one o'clock, and entering our carriage, proceeded
to pay the customary visits of form to all our friends, on the first of Jan
uary. We found numbers of people at home, and left a corresponding
quantity of cards for those who were engaged in the same duty as our
selves. It was a pleasure to reach home once more, and to get rid of the stiff uni-
form in which my limbs had been cased for several hours. Accustomed
all my life to the plain and easy coat of civil life, and donning gold lace
that day for the first time, I felt, I suppose, very much the sensations of
"the hog in armor;" and I was glad after that essay, to find but few
occasions on which full dress was requisite.
As the bell tolled for Oracion, Mr. Ellis and myself mounted the car
riage once more, and soon reached the Palace.
In the anteroom, two aids-de-camp of the President met and conducted
us to the audience-room, now brilliantly lighted with lamps and chande
liers. The saloon was sprinkled over with a gay company of officers
and diplomats in full dress. Santa Anna soon entered from his private
apartments, and taking a seat near the upper end of the room, his friends
gathered sociably around him. As soon as all were seated, Mr. Ellis
presented me privately to him. He took my hand in both of his, and
with an air of great cordiality and a winning smile, addressed me some
complimentary words, inviting us to take seats near him.
The total repose and quietness of the company was precisely what 1
desired. It afforded me an opportunity to take a sort of mind portrait of
the Warrior President ; and seated for an hour within the sound of his
voice, at the distance of a few feet, I had an excellent opportunity to do
so. His demeanor in conversation is mild, earnest and gentlemanly.
He uses much gentle gesture as soon as he becomes animated, and seems
to speak with all his soul, without losing command over himself and his
feelings. I have since seen Santa Anna in his coach, surrounded with guards
and all the pomp of the military, at the review of 8000 troops ; in church

SANTA ANNA.

73

at prayer ; in the ball-room ; in the cock-pit, betting ; in the audience-
room ; at the banquet ; and in private interviews of delicate diplomacy,
when the political interests of the two nations were at stake. No one
can easily fprget him ; and I have delayed describing him until now be
cause I have been unwilling to deceive myself or others. According to
public opinion, he is a riddle in character ; he surely is not so in appear
ance, and if his person and his manners are not, as with others, to be
taken as a fair index of the man, he is either an arch-hypocrite, or a
capital actor.
In person, General Santa Anna is about six feet high, well made, and
of graceful bearing, though he stumps along on an old-fashioned wooden
peg, rejecting, as uncomfortable, all the " mock legs" with patent springs
and self-moving inventions, which have been presented to him by his flat
terers from all parts of the world. His dress, as I have said before, is
on all public occasions that of a high officer of the army ; and his breast
is covered with richly-gemmed decorations.
His brow, shaded with black hair somewhat sprinkled with gray, is
by no means lofty, but narrow and smooth. Although his whole head
is rather small, and perhaps rather too long for its breadth, it has, how
ever, a marked and boldly-defined outline, indicating talent and resolu
tion. His nose is straight and well shaped, and his brows knit in a line
over close and brilliant eyes, which are said to flash with fire when
aroused to passion. His complexion is dark and sallow, and his temper
ament evidently bilious. His mouth is the most remarkable feature. Its
prominent expression, when at rest, is that of mingled pain and anxiety. In
perfect repose, you would think him looking on a dying friend, with whose
sufferings he was deeply but helplessly sympathizing. His head and face
are those of an attentive, thoughtful, melancholy but determined character.
There is no ferocity, vindictiveness, or ill-temper in his expression ; and
when his countenance is lighted up by pleasant conversation, in which he
appears to enter eagerly though with a timid and subdued voice ; and when
he puts on that sweetly wooing smile, which seems too tranquil ever to ripen
into a laugh; you feel that you have before, you a man, who would be
singled from a thousand for his quiet refinement and serious temper ; one
who would at once command your sympathy and your respect ; a well-
bred gentleman, and a resolute soldier, who can win by the solicitation
of an insinuating address, or rule by the authority of an imperious spirit.
Such is a portrait of the man who, since the outbreak of the Mexican
Revolution, has played a chief part in the drama of the time, and has
fought and forced his way to eminence from the humblest rank. The
destroyer and builder up of many systems and men, he has not always
been on the side of republicanism, according to the liberal and enlight
ened notions of the North ; but it is sincerely to be hoped, that he is too
deeply pledged as an old soldier and brave fighter in the cause of liberty,
now to shrink back into the folly of despotism.

74 MEXICO.
While the hour passed in which I sat looking at and listening to this re.
markable person, the company in the saloon gradually thickened. Here
a newly made Colonel, the child of the new revolution, in as new and
bright a uniform; there a veteran General, in the time-stained dress,
tarnished trappings, and old cut coat of the ancient regime. Here a knot
of European diplomatists, blazing with their stars ; and there the old
Archbishop, with his venerable gray locks falling on his violet robes, while
another dignitary of the church stood, by him in velvet and lace, with a
cross of large diamonds and topazes hung round his priestly throat by a
collar of gems, and " ever and anon " taking snuff, in a manner that dis
played a finger which almost blinded by the flash of its diamonds. The
dress of every person in the room, in fact, was rich and tasteful, except
that of one distinguished citizen of Mexico, and a priest in attendance on
the Archbishop — who adhered, amid all the show, to humble and respect
able black.
After an hour's delay, which added to the sharpness of our poorly stayed
appetites, dinner was announced. Santa Anna led the way, and in the
dining-room we found our places indicated by cards on the soup-plates.
The table-service was tolerably good, although there was no such dis
play either of silver, porcelain, or cut-glass, as we see on hundreds of less
courtly tables in the North ; nor were there any " gold spoons " for Con
gressmen to cavil with. The cookery (French and English,) was capital,
and the courses innumerable.* The wines and the conversation went off
with spirit ; and, indeed, the whole entertainment was most agreeable,
except, that during the repast six of ihe President's aids-de-camp stood be.
hind his chair. Their position was, I feel confident, most painful, (at least
to all the foreigners;) and although they performed no menial offices,
yet the act was inelegant, unrepublican, unnecessary, and in excessively
bad taste. I hope never again to be forced to witness such a scene, nor
to sit at table while such men stand.
Thus passed two hours and a half, enlivened by the military bands of
the Palace, playing gay airs with remarkable taste and skill in the pauses.
Near ten we all retired (without the universal cigar) to the reception-room,
where tea and coffee were handed before we departed.
As we passed the windows of the dining-room, we saw the aids-de-camp
at dinner in our lately deserted places; and I sincerely trust as they had
so long but feasted on the fumes of our earlier dinner, that they had
something more substantial than the cold and broken remains of our
splendid repast.
In the palace yard below, hundreds of soldiers were lolling drowsily
on the stone seats, or bundled up in their blankets stretched on the pave.
ment within the gateways ; and as we left the portal, the band in the
balconies above sent over the still square the parting strains of its beau-
tiful music.
'This entertainment was prepared by a celebrated French cook in Mexico, who charged the moderate sum
ot toil a head for forty persons, exclusive of Uie wines.

AUTOGRAPHS.

75

I made several efforts while in Mexico, to procure a portrait of General
Santa Anna for the purpose of presenting it to you ; but I could find no
engraving or lithograph, and the oil pictures were most wretchedly exe
cuted, without doing justice to his very characteristic face. In this age of
autographs, however, when all persons collect, and some few even under
take to read a man's mind in his signature ; I have thought that those of
the President and of the late Emperor Iturbide, might not be uninteresting,
and I therefore subjoin them. That of Santa Anna is a firm, clear, and
distinct one ; while Iturbide's, though strong and decided enough in its
lines, has still a straggling manner, which indicates perhaps too much
the weakness of many parts of that hero's character.

°^j^^ti^A ^6w£)

LETTER XIV.
ST. AUGUSTIN DE LAS CUEVAS, AND THE FEAST OF SAN AUGUSTIN. GAM
BLING AND COCK-FIGHTING.
San Augustin is one of the most charming villages in the neighborhood
of Mexico. It lies, like most of the other villages, at the foot of the
mountains, south of the city, and is reached by a level road about twelve
miles long, leading through some of the most beautiful farms in the Val
ley. Here, not only are immense herds of cattle grazed and large quan
tities of grain cultivated, but you see extensive plantations of the maguey
aloe, or Agave Americana, from which the favorite drink of the natives
is made, in the valleys of Puebla and Mexico.*
When the plant reaches the age of seven years, it is usually ready
to bloom. Upon the appearance of the first symptoms of a bud, the centre
stalk is cut out, and a bowl hollowed in the middle of the large leaves ;
into this, for several days, the juice of the plant exudes plentifully; and
as the bowl fills at certain periods during the day, it is sucked into a long
gourd by the Indian laborers, who transfer it from this to hog-skins. In
these it is taken to the haciendas, slightly fermented in large vats lined
with bull-hides, whence it is again transferred to skins, and so carried
to the city or the shops and sold. It is really amusing, thus to behold
the skin of a stout porker injected with the heady liquid — his legs stick
ing out, and even the remnant of his tail twisting with its wonted curve !
The cultivation of the maguey is one of the most profitable in the Val
ley ; the outlay is calculated generally at about two dollars per plant,
and the return is from seven to ten, according to the size of it. I cannot
say that the flavor is pleasant, though it varies greatly in different parts
of the country. I have tasted some in Mexico that had been sent as a
present from a hacienda near Puebla, which was delicious ; but the ordi
nary liquid sold in the shops, seemed to me very like sour lemonade
improved by the addition of cream-of-tartar. It was like the famous wine
of one of the vallies that pours its stream into the Rhine, with which the
old women of that neighborhood darn their stockings. One drop, it is
said, put on any ordinary hole, draws it up for ever and securely like a
purse-string !
"This plant is one of the most useful in Mexico. It mokes an excellent fence while it is growing ¦ after it
arrives at perfection, pvlquc is extracted from its stalk : the leaves are then either cut up as rood for animals, or
are manufactured into rope, twine, coarse Indian cloth, or wrapping-paper of unec ualled toughness

GAMBLING. 77
The road to St. Augustin is remarkably insecure from robbers ; many
persons have been attacked, and there are still several suspicious spots
where the rascals are supposed to hover on the watch. I therefore never
ventured out except with a large company, or on days when some public
amusement was likely to fill the country with strangers.
The 16th of May is set down in the calendar as the day of the year
dedicated to St. Augustin, and this village is appropriated by the Mexi
cans to the celebration of his festival. Yet, unlike most other festivals,
this one appears to have little or nothing to do, either with religion or the
saint, unless they have a version of his story unknown to other nations.
As on the occasion of the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the road
was filled, after daylight, with passengers in coaches, on horseback,
in diligences, and even on foot. This is a frolic, chiefly for the great,
the wealthy and the fashionable, (as those of Los Remedios and the Vir
gin, are for the mass of the people,) and gambling is the chief bait and
attraction. The square in the centre of the village was fitted up with temporary
booths, and devoted to all sorts of festivity, play and music, for the lower
classes, while many of the adjoining dwellings were adorned in magnifi
cent style for the upper ranks who sported nothing but gold and silver.
Indeed, a chance is offered to all upon this occasion. Every man who
has anything to lose, or the hope of winning, has the opportunity pre
sented. There is no lack of temptation.
First, there are the humblest booths in the square where small sums
of copper alone are played; next, there are others where copper and
reals, or medios, are permitted ; next, those for copper and dollars ; then
roulette, for all stakers ; then banks of silver alone ; then banks of silver
and gold ; and lastly, banks where nothing but gold, and that usually in
doubloons, is ever ventured. You thus perceive, that the opportunity is
liberally presented for every man's purse to become " small by degrees
and beautifully less."
It is estimated that 25,000 doubloons or $400,000, are annually placed
in these banks, and, as at least half that sum is brought on the ground
to bet against them, the amount of money lost and won is enormous.
This year all ihe banks lost except one, and its owners were exceedingly
dissatisfied because their winnings, during the three days of the festival,
amounted to only 25 per cent. ; yet you will imagine how great must
have been their gains, when this very bank had at one time lost near two
thousand doubloons f
The saloons where gold is played are most tastefully fitted up in cool
and airy situations. A long table, covered with green cloth, is placed in
the centre, and in the middle of this lie the shining heaps, rolls, and
piles of gold. Around, sit the patient and silent players. You do not
see, as in France, the iron lip, frowning brow, pale visage, and clenched
hand — indicative of anxiety, remorse, and the lust of greedy gain. The

68 MEXICO.
issues a circle of golden rays, while above it, as if floating in the air,
hangs the figure of a dove, of solid silver, as large as an eagle !
Descending from the altar, you lean on a rail of gilded silver. The
massive candlesticks, and all the stands and reading-desks are of sil
ver, as is also a score of figures, some three feet high, for lamps and
torches. \
From the front of the altar to the body of the church, in which are placed
the choir and organ, there is another silver hand-rail and balustrade on
both sides of the central aisle. The choir is of a dark rich wood, covered
with the most exquisite carvings, in high relief, of passages in the life of
our Saviour, and its gates are beautifully inlaid with silver. The seats
of the clergymen rise above each other in a double row, and in the centre
stands a massive reading-desk, most gorgeously wrought of the precious
metal. To the left of the altar, a chapel, containing a collection of sacred relics,
branches off from the main edifice. The whole eastern end of this is a
blaze of crystal and gilded carvings, "piled up to the lofty arched roof;
while on the steps are two tall India jars, that would make in Europe the
fortune of a china hunter.
As I left the door of this apartment, I noticed a recently painted pic
ture, or rather frame of pictures. It represented a series of miracles
wrought by the Virgin within the last ten years. First, a husband had
stabbed his wife, and yet, by a prayer to the Saint, she was healed:
Second, a child, who had fallen from a window, was miraculously pre
served by her intervention : Third, a woman, passing through a wood,
encountered a robber, who attempted to force her ; yet, an opportune
ejaculation to Guadalupe winged her feet, and she escaped: Fourth,
a man was thrown from his horse, and saved : Fifth, a carriage passed
over another harmlessly : And Sixth, the Virgin saved a woman from
being gored by a bull.
As I passed around the church, I saw a variety of similar mementoes
hung upon the walls — little pictures of sick women — of others praying-
silver arms and legs, and even little waxen ones. In one place I noticed
two braids of hair ; the vow, doubtless of some poor Indian, and perhaps
her most precious gift. I was told in Mexico, by a person who has seen
it, that the native Indians at times come to this shrine, and play before
the Virgin's image on their drums and flageolets.
As I passed through the door, I encountered a lepero-looking fellow,
who, on one side, offered me a ticket in the " Lottery of the Virgin," while
on the other, a servitor of the church held out a stock of red ribbons
" with the measure of the Virgin's hands," and metal medals of Guada
lupe. The latter I thought a better investment than the lottery; and
buying one, which I dipped in the blessed well, I keep it as a memento
of the visit and the spot.
For the curious in such matters, I give the original of a Sonnet and
Verses— and the promise of Indulgences, in honor of the Virgin :

SONNET — INDULGENCES.

69

A MARIA SANTISIMA DE GUADALUPE.

SONETO.

E.

Jsa GUADALUPANA encantadora,
Madre del Hombre Dios y tambien mia,
Baj6 del cielo al Tepeyac un dia
Para ser nuestra insigne Bienhechora.
A la presencia de tan Gran Senoka
FugO la sanguinaria Idolatria,
Como la pavorosa Noche humbrfa
A los primeros rasgos de la Aurora.
Al Dios Huitziloposili destrozaron ;
Los demas Idolillos demolieron ;
Y i. Jesus en sus templos colocaron :
Los Pueblos a. su voz se convirtleron ;
Y cuanto en la Conquista les quitaron :
En tres centurias por MARIA obtuvieron.

En tres siglos cuantas cosas
El tiempo cruel devor6 !....
Los montes ; los altos montes
Mudaron de situacion.
Solo esa copia divina
Cual el dia en que se formti
Permanece en un Ayate ;
Como que es obra de Dios.
A su Madke, Esposa e Hija
Por si mismo la pintd,
Donandola 4 los Indianos
En prueba fiel de su amor.

Esto ciertamente no Tiizo
Con ninguna otra nation :
Bendito sea una y mil veces
Por tan insigne favor.
D6mosle todos las gracias,
Y sea la iluminacion,
Las salvas y los repiques,
Y los e"cos del tambor :
La prueba de nuestro afecto ;
Y un indicio de que en nos
Nunc a entibiara el impio
La pristina devocion.

Se suplica el adorno 6" iluminacion en el Novenario ; y se advierte &. los fieles que los
Illmos. Sres. Obispos de Puebla y Tarazona, concedieron 80 dias de indulgencia en
cada cuarto de hora en que dichas Imagenes se espongan ; y por cada Ave Maria que
se rezare delante de cualquiera de elias 500 dias : lo mismo se gana diciendo Ave Ma
ria, 6 solicitando devotos.=TJltimamente, el Illmo. Sr. D. Fr. Jose" Maria de Jesus Be-
launzaran por si, y los Illmos. Sres. Obispos actuales de Puebla, Michoacan, Jalisco y
Durango concediO 200 dias de indulgencia por cada palabra de lbs devocionarios de la
Sma. Sra. ; por cada paso que se diere en su obsequio ; por cada una de las reverencias
que se le hagan ; y por cada palabra de la misa que en su obsequio el sacerdote y los
oyentes digeren. Otros tantos dias concede por cada cuarto de hora en que se espongan ,
las Efigies en los balcones, ventanas e puertas para la adoracion publica.

LETTER XIII.

COURT CEREMONIES. GENERAL SANTA ANNA. DIPLOMATIC DINNER.
For some time after the installation of General Santa Anna as Pro.
visional President of Mexico, under the system known in the political
history of that country as the " Plan of Tacubaya,"* a difficulty existed
between the Government, and Ministers of- foreign nations, as to the eti
quette which was to be observed on public occasions when it became neces
sary for them to meet ceremoniously. To such an extent had this variance
of established rules been carried, that upon the consecration of the present
Archbishop, the Envoy from France deemed it proper to mark his disap.
probation, by retiring with his legation from the Cathedral.
These matters, which to us republicans seemed of no very great mo.
ment except as they had been rendered so by the Mexicans themselves,
were, however, at length satisfactorily arranged ; and on the first of Jan
uary, 1842, the members of the different missions were invited to meet
the President in the morning, for the purpose of exchanging the usual
courtesies of the day, and to partake of a dinner in the evening. This
invitation was sent with all due form through his Excellency, Mr. De
Bocanegra, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. As the system of entertain
ment at table is quite a novelty in Mexican diplomacy, the invitation was
entirely unexpected ; and it was hailed by the whole corps as indicative of
an agreeable change in our future intercourse.
Accordingly at noon on the first of January, the diplomatic body, in
full uniform, met at the apartments of the Minister of Foreign Relations
in the Palace. Here again, some trifling question of etiquette was started
relative to the precedence of the Archbishop, which being arranged, the
corps, as soon as it had been joined by the Ministers of State, Was ush
ered to the hall of audience by an aid-de-camp of the President. Passing
*The revolution of 1841, after several fruitless battles, in which victory seems to have crowned neither side,
and several as fruitless interviews of the Chiefs and messengers of the different parties, was at length terminated
" TifT6 °f comm,lndmB officera at Tacubaya on the 28th of September, when a plan was agreed upon and
signed by 191 persons, by means of which the existing Constitution of Mexico was superseded. By this system,
or Plan op Tacubaya," consisting of 13 articles, a general amnesty was proclaimed-a call of a new Con
gress to term a Constitution agreed upon^and a Junta created, to be named by the General in Chief of the
Army. 1 he Junta was to elect the Provisional President, who, by the 7th article, was clothed " with all On
powers necessary to reorganize the nation and all the branches of administration ;" or, in other words, with
supreme power. That General was Santa Anna. He selected the Junta, and the Junta returned the compli-
ment by selecting him !

AUDIENCE OF THE PRESIDENT. 71
along several balconies hung against the wall of the inner court-yard, we
soon reached an antechamber filled with all the chief personages, both
military and civil, of the Republic, and we were at once conducted
to the reception-room. This is a large and newly furnished apartment,
plainly painted in fresco ; its walls are hung with ordinary oil pictures of
the history of Napoleon, and the floor is covered with a rather common
carpet. At the south end of the room a Chair of State, with the flags and arms
of Mexico richly embroidered in gold and colors on its velvet cushions,
was placed for the President, under a canopy of crimson edged with gold.
On either side of this, against the wall, were chairs for the four Ministers,
and, immediately in front of the President's seat, running the length of
the room, beneath the great chandelier, were ranged two rows of chairs
facing each other, for the diplomatic corps. Here we took our stand,
according to the rank and length of residence of the respective Envoys
in the country.
In a few moments, the Ministers of State (who had retired after we
were placed,) entered from a room behind the audience-chamber, and
were directly followed by General Santa Anna, in the full uniform of the
Chief of the Army — blue and red, richly embroidered with gold. You
are aware, that at the battle of Vera Cruz with the French, in the year
1838, one of his legs was shattered by a cannon-ball, as he pursued the
enemy on their retreat to their boats. The limb was badly amputated,
and of course he limps along on a wooden substitute, with the aid of a
cane. But the defect does not take from the dignity and manliness of his
air and carriage.
He advanced to his chair under the canopy ; his Ministers placed them
selves on either side of him, and the room, which had hitherto been only
occupied by ourselves, was, at a signal to the aid-de-camp in waiting,
filled with a brilliant cortege of officers in full dress uniforms.
As soon as silence and order were obtained, the President bowed grace
fully to us, and received an obeisance in return. Mr. Pakenham, the
British Envoy, as the oldest resident Minister, then advanced, and in the
name of the diplomatic body, made an address of congratulation in Spanish.
The General listened with attention and interest, and when the Minister
had concluded, replied briefly, but with considerable hesitation of manner
and an awkward twisting of his cane and ohapeau, showing that he was,
at least on that occasion, more of the soldier than the speaker. As he
seated himself after concluding his reply, he motioned us to our chairs,
while the rest of the spectators still remained standing. A short conver
sation then followed between him, Mr. Pakenham, and Mr. Oliver, the
Spanish Envoy, who were immediately in front of him ; and at the first
pause we rose, advanced to him singly and bowed; walking slowly to the
door at the north end of the apartment, we turned on its sill and bowed
again, both of the salutations being gracefully returned by him : and thus
ended the morning visit of ceremonious congratulation \

72 MEXICO.
I have been so minute in repeating to you the details of this cere
mony, not because I deem any account of bows and formal speeches
interesting to a reader ; but because such a scene has occurred in a
Republic, before the President of a Republic, and in a National Palace
surrounded with soldiery, amid the beating of drums, the braying of trum-
pets, and all the paraphernalia of a court. Such a detail sounds oddly to
one who — entering a door often opened without a porter — passing through
no lines of grim guards — amid no military pomp or parade — approaches
the President of our own more favored land, and finds him seated in his
plain parlor, by a comfortable grate, habited in neat but homely dress ;
and ready, without ceremony, to grasp your hand and welcorne you to his
fireside.

We left the Palace at one o'clock, and entering our carriage, proceeded
to pay the customary visits of form to all our friends, on the first of Jan-
uary. We found numbers of people at home, and left a corresponding
quantity of cards for those who were engaged in the same duty as our
selves. It was a pleasure to reach home once more, and to get rid of the stiff uni-
form in which my limbs had been cased for several hours. Accustomed
all my life to the plain and easy coat of civil life, and donning gold lace
that day for the first time, I felt, I suppose, very much the sensations of
"the hog in armor;" and I was glad after that essay, to find but few
occasions on which full dress was requisite.
As the bell tolled for Oracion, Mr. Ellis and myself mounted the car
riage once more, and soon reached the Palace.
In the anteroom, two aids-de-camp of the President met and conducted
us to the audience-room, now brilliantly lighted with lamps and chande
liers. The saloon was sprinkled over with a gay company of officers
and diplomats in full dress. Santa Anna soon entered from his private
apartments, and taking a seat near the upper end of the room, his friends
gathered sociably around him. As soon as all were seated, Mr. Ellis
presented me privately to him. He took my hand in both of his, and
with an air of great cordiality and a winning smile, addressed me some
complimentary words, inviting us to take seats near him.
The total repose and quietness of the company was precisely what 1
desired. It afforded me an opportunity to take a sort of mind portrait of
the Warrior President; and seated for an hour within the sound of his
voice, at the distance of a few feet, I had an excellent opportunity to do
so. His demeanor in conversation is mild, earnest and gentlemanly.
He uses much gentle gesture as soon as he becomes animated, and seems
to speak with all his soul, without losing command over himself and his
ieelmgs. I have since seen Santa Anna in his coach, surrounded with guards
and all the pomp of the military, at the review of 8000 troops ; in church

SANTA ANNA. 73

:

at prayer ; in the ball-room ; in the cock-pit, betting ; in the audience-
room ; at the banquet ; and in private interviews of delicate diplomacy,
when the political interests of the two nations were at stake. No one
can easily fprget him ; and I have delayed describing him until now be
cause I have been unwilling to deceive myself or others. According to
public opinion, he is a riddle in character ; he surely is not so in appear
ance, and if his person and his manners are not, as with others, to be
taken as a fair index of the man, he is either an arch-hypocrite, or a
capital actor.
In person, General Santa Anna is about six feet high, well made, and
of graceful bearing, though he stumps along on an old-fashioned wooden
peg, rejecting, as uncomfortable, all the " mock legs" with patent springs
and self-moving inventions, which have been presented to him by his flat
terers from all parts of the world. His dress, as I have said before, is
on all public occasions that of a high officer of the army ; and his breast
is covered with richly-gemmed decorations.
His brow, shaded with black hair somewhat sprinkled with gray, is
by no means lofty, but narrow and smooth. Although his whole head
is rather small, and perhaps rather too long for its breadth, it has, how
ever, a marked and boldly-defined outline, indicating talent and resolu
tion. His nose is straight and well shaped, and his brows knit in a line
over close and brilliant eyes, which are said to flash with fire when
aroused to passion. His complexion is dark and sallow, and his temper
ament evidently bilious. His mouth is the most remarkable feature. Its
prominent expression, when at rest, is that of mingled pain and anxiety. In
perfect repose, you would think him looking on a dying friend, with whose
sufferings he was deeply but helplessly sympathizing. His head and face
are those of an attentive, thoughtful, melancholy but determined character.
There is no ferocity, vindictiveness, or ill-temper in his expression ; and
when his countenance is lighted up by pleasant conversation, in which he
appears to enter eagerly though with a timid and subdued voice ; and when
he puts on that sweetly wooing smile, which seems too tranquil ever to ripen
into a laugh ; you feel that you have before you a man, who would be
singled from a thousand for his quiet refinement and serious temper ; one
who would at once command your sympathy and your respect ; a well-
bred gentleman, and a resolute soldier, who can win by the solicitation
of an insinuating address, or rule by the authority of an imperious spirit.
Such is a portrait of the man who, since the outbreak of the Mexican
Revolution, has played a chief part in the drama of the time, and has
fought and forced his way to eminence from the humblest rank. The
destroyer and builder up of many systems and men, he has not always
been on the side of republicanism, according to the liberal and enlight
ened notions of the North ; but it is sincerely to be hoped, that he is too
deeply pledged as an old soldier and brave fighter in the cause of liberty,
now to shrink back into the folly of despotism.

74 MEXICO.
While the hour passed in which I sat looking at and listening to this re-
markable person, the company in the saloon gradually thickened. Here
a newly made Colonel, the child of the new revolution, in as new and
bright a uniform ; there a veteran General, in the time-stained dress,
tarnished trappings, and old cut coat of the ancient regime. Here a knot
of European diplomatists, blazing with their stars ; and there the old
Archbishop, with his venerable gray locks falling on his violet robes, while
another dignitary of the church stood, by him in velvet and lace, with a
cross of large diamonds and topazes hung round his priestly throat by a
collar of gems, and " ever and anon " taking snuff, in a manner that dis-
played a ringer which almost blinded by the flash of its diamonds. The
dress of every person in the room, in fact, was rich and tasteful, except
that of one distinguished citizen of Mexico, and a priest in attendance on
the Archbishop — who adhered, amid all the show, to humble and respect
able black.
After an hour's delay, which added to the sharpness of our poorly stayed
appetites, dinner was announced. Santa Anna led the way, and in the
dining-room we found our places indicated by cards on the soup-plates.
The table-service was tolerably good, although there was no such dis
play either of silver, porcelain, or cut-glass, as we see on hundreds of less
courtly tables in the North ; nor were there any " gold spoons " for Con.
gressmen to cavil with. The cookery (French and English,) was capital,
and the courses innumerable.* The wines and the conversation went off
with spirit ; and, indeed, the whole entertainment was most agreeable,
except, that during the repast six of ihe President's aids-de-camp stood be
hind his chair. Their position was, I feel confident, most painful, (at least
to all the foreigners;) and although they performed no menial offices,
yet the act was inelegant, unrepublican, unnecessary, and in excessively
bad taste. I hope never again to be forced to witness such a scene, nor
to sit at table while such men stand.
Thus passed two hours and a half, enlivened by the military bands of
the Palace, playing gay airs with remarkable taste and skill in the pauses.
Near ten we all retired (without the universal cigar) to the reception-room,
where tea and coffee were handed before we departed.
As we passed the windows of the dining-room, we saw the aids-de-camp
at dinner in our lately deserted places ; and I sincerely trust as they had
so long but feasted on the fumes of our earlier dinner, that they had
something more substantial than the cold and broken remains of our
splendid repast.
In the palace yard below, hundreds of soldiers were lolling drowsily
on the stone seats, or bundled up in their blankets stretched on the pave-
ment within the gateways ; and as we left the portal, the band in the
balconies above sent over the still square the parting strains of its beau
tiful music.
•This entertainment was prepared by a celebrated French cook in Mexico, who charged the moderate sum
ot $25 a head lor forty persons, exclusive of Uie wines.

AUTOGRAPHS.

75

I made several efforts while in Mexico, to procure a portrait of General
Santa Anna for the purpose of presenting it to you ; but I could find no
engraving or lithograph, and the oil pictures were most wretchedly exe
cuted, without doing justice to his very characteristic face. In this age of
autographs, however, when all persons collect, and some few even under
take to read a man's mind in his signature ; I have thought that those of
the President and of the late Emperor Iturbide, might not be uninteresting,
and I therefore subjoin them. That of Santa Anna is a firm, clear, and
distinct one ; while Iturbide's, though strong and decided enough in its
lines, has still a straggling manner, which indicates perhaps too much
the weakness of many parts of that hero's character.
43 • £.dcM&jr. «* -ft0*-

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j*i

J> P

LETTER XIV.
ST. AUGUSTIN DE LAS CUEVAS, AND THE FEAST OF SAN AUGUSTIN. GAM
BLING AND COCK-FIGHTING.
San Augustin is one of the most charming villages in the neighborhood
of Mexico. It lies, like most of the other villages, at the foot of the
mountains, south of the city, and is reached by a level road about twelve
miles long, leading through some of the most beautiful farms in the Val-
ley. Here, not only are immense herds of cattle grazed and large quan
tities of grain cultivated, but you see extensive plantations of the maguey
aloe, or Agave Americana, from which the favorite drink of the natives
is made, in the valleys of Puebla and Mexico.*
When the plant reaches the age of seven years, it is usually ready
to bloom. Upon the appearance of the first symptoms of a bud, the centre
stalk is cut out, and a bowl hollowed in the middle of the large leaves ;
into this, for several days, the juice of the plant exudes plentifully ; and
as the bowl fills at certain periods during the day, it is sucked into a long
gourd by the Indian laborers, who transfer it from this to hog-skins. In
these it is taken to the haciendas, slightly fermented in large vats lined
with bull-hides, whence it is again transferred to skins, and so carried
to the city or the shops and sold. It is really amusing, thus to behold
the skin of a stout porker injected with the heady liquid — his legs stick
ing out, and even the remnant of his tail twisting with its wonted curve !
The cultivation of the maguey is one of the most profitable in the Val
ley ; the outlay is calculated generally at about two dollars per plant,
and the return is from seven to ten, according to the size of it. I cannot
say that the flavor is pleasant, though it varies greatly in different parts
of the country. I have tasted some in Mexico that had been sent as a
present from a hacienda near Puebla, which was delicious ; but the ordi
nary liquid sold in the shops, seemed to me very like sour lemonade
improved by the addition of cream-of-tartar. It was like the famous wine
of one of the vallies that pours its stream into the Rhine, with which the
old women of that neighborhood darn their stockings. One drop, it is
said, put on any ordinary hole, draws it up for ever and securely like a
purse-string !
* This plant is one of the most useful in Mexico. It makes an excellent fence while it is growing • after it
arrives at perfection, pulque is extracted from its stalk : the leaves are then either cut up as food for animals, or
are manufactured into rope, twine, coarse Indian cloth, or wrapping-paper of unec ualled toughness

GAMBLING. 77
The road to St. Augustin is remarkably insecure from robbers ; many
persons have been attacked, and there are still several suspicious spots
where the rascals are supposed to hover on the watch. I therefore never
ventured out except with a large company, or on days when some public
amusement was likely to fill the country with strangers.
The 16th of May is set down in the calendar as the day of the year
dedicated to St. Augustin, and this village is appropriated by the Mexi
cans to the celebration of his festival. Yet, unlike most other festivals,
this one appears to have little or nothing to do, either with religion or the
saint, unless they have a version of his story unknown to other nations.
As on the occasion of the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the road
was filled, after daylight, with passengers in coaches, on horseback,
in diligences, and even on foot. This is a frolic, chiefly for the great,
the wealthy and the fashionable, (as those of Los Remedios and the Vir
gin, are for the mass of the people,) and gambling is the chief bait and
attraction. The square in the centre of the village was fitted up with temporary
booths, and devoted to all sorts of festivity, play and music, for the lower
classes, while many of the adjoining dwellings were adorned in magnifi
cent style for the upper ranks who sported nothing but gold and silver.
Indeed, a chance is offered to all upon this occasion. Every man who
has anything to lose, or the hope of winning, has the opportunity pre
sented. There is no lack of temptation.
First, there are the humblest booths in the square where small sums
of copper alone are played ; next, there are others where copper and
reals, or medios, are permitted ; next, those for copper and dollars ; then
roulette, for all stakers ; then banks of silver alone ; then banks of silver
and gold ; and lastly, banks where nothing but gold, and that usually in
doubloons, is ever ventured. You thus perceive, that the opportunity is
liberally presented for every man's purse to become " small by degrees
and beautifully less."
It is estimated that 25,000 doubloons or $400,000, are annually placed
in these banks, and, as at least half that sum is brought on the ground
to bet against them, the amount of money lost and won is enormous.
This year all the banks lost except one, and its owners were exceedingly
dissatisfied because their winnings, during the three days of the festival,
amounted to only 25 per cent. ; yet you will imagine how great must
have been their gains, when this very bank had at one time lost near two
thousand doubloons!
The saloons where gold is played are most tastefully fitted up in cool
and airy situations. A long table, covered with green cloth, is placed in
the centre, and in the middle of this lie the shining heaps, rolls, and
piles of gold. Around, sit the patient and silent players. You do not
see, as in France, the iron lip, frowning brow, pale visage, and clenched
hand — indicative of anxiety, remorse, and the lust of greedy gain. The

78 MEXICO.
Spaniard takes it with the nonchalance of eastern fatalism. Nothing dis
concerts, disturbs, or forces him to utter an exclamation of pleasure or a
sigh of pain — but he sits in stoic silence receiving his ounces, if he win,
without eagerness, or seeing them swell the bank without sorrow, if he
lose. The game of montC has become -part of the very nature of the inhabit-
ants of Southern America. Accustomed in the olden times under the
Colonial Government, to immense wealth, " wealth (as the old people
describe it,) in which they literally swam," gold lost its value and be
came but a counter, by means of which they passed their idle hours in
an agreeable excitement that never ruffled or elated them. This habit
ual regard for the game has descended from sire to son, and the keeping
of a table, or its ownership, is not esteemed disreputable, as in other
countries. On the contrary, the largest sums are avowedly furnished
by most respectable bankers, and the sport is held to be a species of
legitimate trade.
Yet, great is the distress produced in Mexico by gambling. While a
hundred establishments are opened in St. Augustin for three days, there
are not less than hundreds, in the city of Mexico, open daily during the
whole year ! The consequence is, that although the wealthiest and bold
est betters, who venture their 200, 400, or even 1000 doubloons on a sin-
gle card at St. Augustin, play only there, or but once or twice a year,
yet the constant drain on the small gamblers is kept up day after day
and night after night in the Capital. Is it to be wondered then, amid a
nation of such habits — so prodigal, proud, and easily ruined, that persons
who venture and lose their all on a single stake, or habitually live by
the risks of fortune, betake themselves at last to the road, and rob with
the pistol instead of the cards ? Both are short cuts to fortune or the
gallows. We adjourned, at two o'clock, from the gambling-houses to the Cock- Pit.
The President, General Santa Anna, and General Bravo, with their suites,
occupied one of the centre boxes of the theatre, while the rest were filled
with the beauty and fashion of Mexico. It is the vogue for women of
family and respectability to attend these festivals, their great object being
to outshine each other in the splendor and variety of their garments. The
rage is to have one dress for mass at ten o'clock, one for the cock-pit,
another for the ball at the Calvario, and a fourth for the ball in the
evening. These again must be different on each succeeding day of ihe
festival .'
The cocks were brought into the centre of the pit within the ring, the
President's fowls being generally those first put on the earth. They were
then thrown off for a spring at each other, and taken up again before the
betting began. Brokers went round, proclaiming the amount placed in
their hands to bet on any particular fowl. Whenever a bet was offered

THE COCK. PIT. 79
against Santa Anna's bird, the broker was called to his box and an aid-
de-camp covered it. Besides these bets, the General usually had some
standing ones agreed on beforehand with the owners of other cocks ; and
in this manner five or six thousand dollars were lost or won by him in
the pit daily. Seven mains of cocks were fought each day — the Presi
dent seeming to relish the sport vastly, while his aids were highly ex
ited, and the ladies looked on with evident gusto.
Nothing can be more grossly mean than a passion for cock fighting.
A bull fight, brutal and bloody as it is, has still something noble in the
contest between the man and the animal ; there is a trial of skill, and
often a trial for life. Horse racing is a beautiful sport, it is both exciting
and useful ; and the breed of a noble animal is cherished and improved by
it. But to see grown men, and among them the chiefs of a nation, sit
down quietly to watch two birds kick each other to death with slashers and
spurs, in order to make money out of the victory of one of them, is too
contemptible to be sanctioned or apologized for in any way, except by
old traditionary customs. Such were the old customs of Mexico. Their
fathers gambled — they gamble. Their fathers fought fowls — they fight
fowls ; and if you speak to them of it, they shrug their shoulders, with a
"pues que ?" — " what will you ?"
It is with pleasure, however, that I record one pleasant scene at least
in this festival of St. Augustin. On the second day I did not go out early
in the morning, but took a place in the diligence at half-past two p. m.,
reaching the village in a couple of hours. Disgusted with the gambling
scenes and the cock-pit, I went only to see the Calvario, or ball given
every afternoon at the Calvary, which adjoins the village on the west.
We walked to this spot through beautiful lanes of Oriental-looking
houses, bowered among groves of orange and jasmine, and arrived about
six o'clock. As the people were just assembling we strolled up the
green hills, traversed by streams of crystal water, until we reached an
eminence above the village, bosomed in an eternal shade, from which
peeped out the white walls of the houses and azoteas, covered with the
most beautiful and fragrant flowers. Across the valley, the eye rested
on the silvery line of Tezcoco, and as the slanting rays of the sun fell
over the soft midland- view, and athwart the hills through the gaps of the
western mountains, lighting the ravines, and throwing the bold peaks in
shadow ; I thought I had never beheld a more perfect picture drawn from
fancy of the peace and beauty of a " Happy Valley." It was soon en
livened by figures, and became a scene worthy of the fairy fancy of
Watteau. From the top of Calvary, the hill-side sloped down amphitheatrically
to a level meadow, a bow-shot in width, closed on the east and west by
trees in their freshest foliage, and terminated at the north by a garden and
azotea just peeping over the leaves of an orange grove. On the side of

80 MEXICO.
the hill, seats had been placed for ladies, which were speedily filled by
them attired in full dress for the evening. The fine military band of the
garrison struck up directly in the centre of the sward, and in a moment
the dancers were on foot. Galopades, waltzes, cotillons, Spanish dances
— succeeded each other rapidly. It was difficult to say which was the
more beautiful display — that of Mexican beauty tripping it with gay cava
lier "to music on the green," or that of Mexican beauty lining the hill
side, and watching the festive scene with its pensive gaze.
The dance continued until twilight, when the crowd moved off to town,
in carriages and on foot. In a moment all was bustle, and as I gained the
road, I was a little astonished to see the hosts of beggars who were there
to meet the returning mass of roystering lads, and gleesome fair ones.
Nor were these, alone, the beggars of St. Augustin — the city had poured
out its complement ; all my well-known acquaintances were present,
anxious to pick up the " crumbs from the rich man's table," and, for ought
I know, to venture some of them slyly in the booths of the square. As
this tide of joyous life swept home, I could not help noticing one of these
wretches, who threw himself actually in the pathway of the returning
multitude, and rolled along the road in such a manner that it became im-
possible to pass without treading on or over him. It was the old howling
beggar of the Alameda : kicks, cuffs, stumbles availed nothing ; still he
rolled, and still he howled.
Such is the contrast presented continually between enormous wealth
and squalid misery in the Republic of Mexico !

LETTER XV.

REVOLUTION. WAX-FIGURES. VISIT TO THE MUSEUM. ANTIQUITIES.
It was just after the conclusion of the Revolution of 1841, which re
sulted in placing General Santa Anna at the head of the Government,
that I arrived in the city of Mexico, and found the marks of the struggle
that took place on that memorable occasion, yet visible in the streets.
For a month the city had been in a state of siege ; General Bustamante,
the Constitutional President, occupying the National Palace, and holding
possession of portions of the town with his troops, while General Valencia
controlled the citadel, from which he cannonaded and threw shells into the
city. During all this time the work of slaughter went on ; but the chief
injury was inflicted on harmless non-combatants,. who happened at times
to pass exposed places, or to cross streets which were raked by the artil
lery. Numbers of poor laborers, and laborers' wives, bringing them food,
were thus destroyed ; and during the whole of the period I remained in
the Capital, the scars and indentations made by the balls and bullets
in the walls of the Calle Refugio, were-.never repaired. From the tops of
houses, too, death was dealt by the insurgents. Screening themselves
behind the parapet walls of azoteas, and frequently in church-towers, they
shot down, indiscriminately, all who passed, and made the sureness of
aim a matter of boast and joke. In the Revolution or 6meute of the pre
vious year, General Valencia had thus well nigh fallen victim to some
reckless marksman. As he passed along one of the streets, at the head
of his troops — at a moment, too, when no attack was meditated — a solitary
rifleman sent a ball from a steeple through his chapeau. The General
keeps the hat as a sort of military trophy.
Upon the azotea of the house occupied by the Prussian Charge d'Affaires,
a man was slain early one morning, by a shot from the azotea of the op
posite convent of the Profesa ; yet, so incessant was the firing, that the
family was prevented from coming to his succor or removing the body for
several hours.
Thus did that fearful struggle degenerate into murder within the city
walls, while the horrors of civil war were enhanced by a bombardment
and cannonade from the citadel, under a commander who, until within a
few days, had enjoyed the highest confidence of the Constitutional Gov
ernment. It is sincerely to be hoped, that the lesson taught at this epoch has dis
gusted the nation with these bloody turmoils. There appears among the
6

82

MEXICO.

people a general desire for peace ; and the wise, just, and thoughtful
of all parties, can surely agree upon some plan to satisfy the common
interests, to quell the inordinate passions of military chieftains, and, in
fine, to terminate for ever these dreadful scenes. In treating hereafter of
the political condition of Mexico, I shall have occasion to refer again to
this subject, and shall then do so more fully.
These ideas struck me as I went for the first time to the University,
and saw even the front of that edifice, which should naturally be sacred
to learning aDd peace, pierced with cannon balls and bullets. The walls
only, I believe, were injured. Indeed, from the appearance of the houses
throughout the city, I am inclined to think that the Mexicans were either
exceedingly bad marksmen, or, that they aimed high (if they aimed at
all,) to prevent carnage. The plaster and stones, and the poor non-combat
ants were evidently the greatest sufferers, while the soldiers seem to have
had an amiable compassion for each other !
# * * * * *
The University is a fine old monastic building, erected around a court.
yard of large dimensions, in the centre of which is now placed the colos
sal bronze statue of Charles IV., cast in the city of Mexico by Tolsa, a
Mexican artist. This really beautiful work formerly stood in the
great square fronting the Cathedral, where its huge mass was more in
proportion to the surrounding space and objects.

STATUE OF CHARLES IV.

MEXICAN ARTISTS. g3
The statue is Equestrian. The monarch is represented in Roman cos
tume, his brow bound with a wreath of laurel, and in the act of curb
ing his horse with his left hand, while his right extends a truncheon.
An antique sword rests on his thigh, and an imperial robe flows in easy
folds from his shoulders covering the haunches of the horse, who is mov
ing forward, and trampling on a quiver of arrows. The face of Charles
was not remarkable for dignity or command, so that, in order to preserve
the resemblance, the artist has been obliged to throw all the power of
his work into the figure. But the result has been a statue of great ma
jesty, and worthy of the most judicious praise. Although the model
of the horse is certainly good, and the dimensions well preserved in the
colossal size, yet it is quite evident that the artist had only" the Mexican
animal in his mind's eye when he moulded his masterpiece. The chief
defects, as well as I was able to judge in its present unfavorable position,
were disproportions in the neck and haunches ; the former being entirely
too thick and large, while the latter are too heavy and small, both for
the legs of the animal and the figure they support. The drapery of the
sovereign, the saddle-cloth, sword, bridle, a Medusa head on the mar
tingale, and all the accessories, are admirably finished in the highest
style of art. One of the most severe and tasteful critics who ever saw
it, compares this work of the native Mexican with the famous statue of
Marcus Aurelius at Rome, which has so frequently been the theme of
praise by the most learned sculptors of the Old World.
Indeed, the art of imitating nature in statuary, is a talent perhaps no
where more common than in Mexico. I do not mean by this, that fine
sculpture is common there ; but I know of few places where there is
more talent to produce it.
The moment a stranger arrives in Mexico he is besieged by a host of
wax-figure makers, with small statues of the costumes and trades of the
country. These, it is true, are cast in moulds, but the talent is not the
less remarkable. They are admirably executed. Dress, feature, de
meanor, action, are all caught and faithfully depicted to the very life,
and no collection can be more worthily adorned than by a series of these
figures. You can obtain them of any size, or any subject ; and although
the materials are frail, they may be safely transported from the Capital
to the coast. If these statuettes are wonderful, their makers are not less
so. You would be astonished to see the artist, who produces a gem of a
figure which in Europe would command a couple of doubloons. A little
room up two pairs of ricketty stairs, just large enough to turn in, where
his wife cooks and sleeps with two or three children in one corner; while
he, with his lump of wax and his portable furnace, stands working, mould
ing and dressing his figures in another. Such is the atelier, while the
man himself, is scarcely distinguishable from the commonest leperos.

6*

84 MEXICO.
Until recently, there were in the city of Puebla two sisters, remarkable
for the manufacture of figures from rags. These ladies were of respect.
able birth, and always commanded a ready sale for their works, which
were sought for even in Europe. They moulded the figures of lumps
of beeswax, covered the different parts of the body with cotton cloth of
colors suited to the complexion, and, while the wax was yet soft, moulded
the features into the required expression, completing the representation
with appropriate dresses. I have two of these in my possession, which,
in point of character, are worthy of the pencil of Teniers. They repre
sent an old Indian woman, scolding and weeping over her drunken son.
The grief and age of the one, and the tipsy leer, roll of the head, and
want of command over the limbs of the other, are rendered with indes
cribable faithfulness. One of these remarkable artists died while I was
in Mexico, and the other is extremely old and feeble, so that it has now
become a matter of great difficulty to obtain a specimen of her works;
nor can they hereafter be as perfect as formerly, as the sister who died
was remarkable for her perfection in forming the figures, while the
greater talent of finishing and giving expression, was the task of the sur-
vivor. Both duties now devolve on her, and what with age and the loss
of her companion, her hand seems to have lost much of its cunning.

But let us retrace our way to the Museum.
Turning from the statue of Charles IV. in the centre of the court-yard,
to the left-hand side of the quadrangle, you observe the arcades at that
end covered with panels of wood, ten or fifteen feet high, and apparently
filled with boxes, old bookcases, old stones, and a quantity of lumber. A
real to the porter will, however, admit you to the inclosure, and you will
be surprised to find amid that mass of filth, dirt, and refuse furniture,
relics of antiquity for which thousands would be gladly paid by the Brit
ish Museum, the Louvre, the Glyptotheca of Munich, or, indeed, by any
enlightened Sovereign, who possessed the taste to acquire and the money
to purchase.
You see a mimic tree, with a stuffed bear climbing up it ; a bleached
and hairless tiger-skin dangling from the ceiling ; half-a-dozen Indian
dresses made of snake-skins, fluttering on the wall ; and, amid all this
confusion, towers aloft the grand and hideous Indian idol of Teoyaomi-
oui ; the great Stone of Sacrifice, (with a stone cross now erected in the
middle to sanctify it ;) the celebrated statue of the Indio Triste, not long
since disinterred ; a colossal head of serpentine, in the Egyptian style of
sculpture ; the two carvings of the Feathered Serpents, already described
in my letter on Cholula ; while, on the benches around the walls, and scat
tered over the floor, are numberless figures of dogs, monkeys, lizards,

INDIAN IDOLS.

85

birds, serpents, all in seemingly inextricable confusion and utter neg
lect. As you enter the gate of the inclosure, the stone that first strikes your
view is represented in the following sketch.

It is a huge mass of serpentine, a stone now rarely found in the Re
public. This curious head* was discovered in the year 1837, in the
street of St. Teresa, on the site of an old Indian Palace, the tradition of
which records it to have been the residence of Montezuma's father. It is
a yard broad and twenty-nine inches high. The carving is admirably well
executed, and strangers are struck with the strong resemblance it bears,
both in its massiveness and demure style, to the statues of ancient Egypt.
Bustamante, one of the most learned of the modern antiquarians of Mex
ico, asserts it to be the god of Baths. Gondra, the director of the Na
tional Museum, on the other hand, alleges it to be the god of Night — the
half shut eyes, and sealed mouth, bearing him out in his hypothesis.
Next to this are the " Sacrificial Stone," and the idol " Teoyaomiqui,"
of which I shall treat in a separate letter. Beyond them is the following
curious figure, * Sometimes called " Centeotl," sometimes " Temazcolteci."

86

MEXICO.

found on the Hill of Tezcosingo, near the town of Tezcoco, on the eastern
side of the lake. The Indians from that portion of the country say that"
it represents the God of Silence. The mouth, where the lines in the cut
mark a square, is painted red on the statue, but Mr. Gondra believes that
the color was added by the Indian who discovered it. Next to this is

niRo MUD 0.

INDIAN IDOLS.

87

a figure of the Perro Mudo — or dumb dog. This carving was also
found in the Calle de St. Teresa, and was doubtless an Indian idol.
Silent dogs, were said to have been plentiful at the period of the Spanish
conquest ; and, although they have been destroyed for food, in the south
ern and middle parts of Mexico, they are still found, it is alleged, among
the Apache Indians. The figure is of basalt, like the god of Silence,
and is one foot and ten inches high.
By the side of the "Perro Mudo," on the bench against the wall, is an
Indian Mortar ;

?siw$»ifc

i«

Pip

1/ MSffiPS,;
ft I ":
/  . .... . ,.

the edge of the bowl is surrounded, as you perceive, by the figure of a
coiled serpent, exquisitely carved in basalt. Next to this is a head, also
beautifully cut in the same material.

88 MEXICO.
1 was unable to find any one who could explain its signification, or
inform me of the place where it was discovered.
But of all the figures within this inclosure, none struck me so much as
that of the Indio Triste— or "Sad Indian."

This remarkable statue was discovered behind the Palace, beneath the
street which now bears its name. It is three feet four inches high, and
two feet broad, and was disinterred in the year 1828. It is rather the
figure of a surly, than a sad Indian. His brows are drawn together with
anger. His eyes are wide and glaring. His tongue is slightly protruded
from the mouth. Around his neck is a cape of feathers, and his feet are
sandalled. His hands are joined by the points of the fingers, and an
aperture is thus left to insert a staff or pole — the bottom of which evidently
rested in a socket cut in the base of the statue, between the feet, as indi
cated in the engraving. This figure was probably set on the wall, or at
the portal of some edifice, and in his hand was erected a banner or in
signia of command. There is a fixed, stony gaze of imperturbable sur
liness and impudence in the face, which always struck me as making it
one of the most characteristic remains in the Museum.
Although there is ample material around me for further illustration
of the curious idolatry of the ancient Indians, I will not trouble you with
more sketches at present, and conclude this part of my description of
the Museum by simply saying, that the remainder of the idols are chiefly
images of clogs, monkeys, lizards, and rabbits — the proportions of which

INDIAN IDOLS. 89
are greatly exaggerated, so as to make them deformed and hideous. If
their worship was a worship of pure propitiation, they seem to have
adopted the idea of the Chinese, and prayed rather to the Evil principle
of things than to the Good. " God is too good," said a Chinese to me
once — " God is too good to hurt us, but Ki — the Devil — will ; I therefore
pray to the devil to let me alone !"
It may be readily imagined that people, in the dawn of religious ideas,
will personify every ill that assails them under the shape in which it
becomes most annoying. They imagine when they are assailed by ser
pents, that the Evil principle vexes them in that form ; when their houses
are overrun with lizards, that the demon has attacked them in another
shape ; and thus, according to their simple reasoning, it was wise to mani
fest their ideas of this wicked Spirit in statues of the disguises he had
himself selected, and under those forms to appease him by worship
and offerings. It is by imagining a system of this nature, that we can
alone account for the extraordinary and fanciful creations of Mexican
art which have been preserved until our day and generation.

LETTER XVI.

the museum and its antiquities, continued.
Ascending by a broad flight of steps at the eastern end of the court
yard, you reach the second story of the University building, in which are
the National Museum and the halls appropriated to students. On the
ground floor, are a rather shabby and neglected chapel and the college-
hall or recitation-room, the latter of which reminded me of some of the
fine monastic chambers of the Old World, with their high ceilings, lofty
windows, dark walls, carved pulpit, and oaken seats, brown with the hues
of venerable age.
On the wall at the end of the first flight, as you ascend to the upper
story, there is a huge picture, which covers the whole back of the build
ing. It represents a court ceremony of the time of Charles IV. ; and
from the ugliness of the faces, and the characteristic mien of all the
figures, there can be no doubt that it is a faithful representation, both of
the persons and costume of the period depicted.
The first room you enter on your right, is a large hall which, like
everything public I have yet seen in this Republic, is neglected and lum
bered. Around the cornice hangs a row of the portraits of the Viceroys,
in the stiff and formal guise of their several periods. Some are in mili
tary costume, some in monkish, some in civil, and some in the out
landish frills, furbelows and finery of the last century ; but whether it be
of wisdom, or of wickedness, nature has invariably stamped a decided
character on every head.
In one corner of this apartment stand the remains of a throne, deposited
among the rubbish as no longer valuable in a Republic. Near it, how
ever, and in strange contrast, is placed the incomplete basso-relievo of a
trophy of liberty ; and above this, against the wall, in a rude coffin of
rough pine boards, hangs a mummy, dug up not long ago on the fields
of Tlaltelolco north of the city.
Yet this room is not altogether destitute of interest, if you can induce
the keeper to open the shutters. The light then falls upon portraits of
Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the hall, which are worthy of the
pencil of Velasquez.
Passing to the adjoining sala, we enter the Museum of Mexican Anti-

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

91

quities, and odd, indeed, is the jumble of fragments of the past and pres
ent that bursts upon your view.
In the centre of the room is a Castle and Fortification, made of wood and
straw, with mimic guns and all the array of military power. This was
the work of a poor prisoner — the labor of years of solitude ana misery.
To the left is a numismatic cabinet, tolerably rich in Spanish speci
mens and in a collection of Roman coins, which promises, under the
care of Mr. Gondra, to become exceedingly rare and valuable. Next,
there is a small library of manuscripts of the early missionaries in Mexico ;
volumes of their sermons, poems, and records of marriages, births and
baptisms soon after the conquest. It is astonishing to see how many took
the name of Hernando Cortez. Next to this, again, is another case con
taining (among all sorts of antiquated gimcrackery,) some beautiful spe
cimens of the rag and wax-work, which I described in a former letter.
In a corner hard by, covered with dust, lie the original drawings of
Palenque and the volumes of Lord Kingsborough's Mexico, presented to
this Museum by that munificent antiquarian. They are rarely looked
at, except by some foreign traveller who happens to straggle into the
Museum. The rest of the collection is valuable. In the adjoining cases are all
the smaller Mexican Antiquities, which have been gathered together by
the labor of many years, and arranged with some attention to system.
In one department you find the hatchets used by the Indians ; the orna
ments of beads of obsidian and stone worn round their necks ; the mir
rors of obsidian ; the masks of the same material, which they hung at
different seasons before the faces of their idols ; their bows and arrows
and arrow-heads of obsidian, some of them so small and beautifully cut,
that the smallest bird might be killed without injuring the plumage.
In another department are the smaller idols of the ancient Indians, in
clay and stone, specimens of which, together with the small domestic
altars and vases for burning incense, are exhibited in the following
drawings :

92

MEXICO

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

93

Many of these figures were doubtless worn suspended around the neck,
ar hung on the walls of houses, as several are pierced with holes, through
which cords have evidently been passed.
. In the next case is a collection of Mexican Vases and Cups, most of
which were discovered about the year 1827, in subterranean chambers,
in the Island of Sacrificios.

94

MEXICO.

V';*S?

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

95

96

MEXICO.

It is well known to all who have read the history of Mexico, that at the
period of the conquest by Cortez, this Island was a spot sacred to sepulture
and sacrifice.
Owing to the inertness of the Mexican Government, no thorough explo
ration has as yet been made, but it has been left to the enterprise of
commanders 6f vessels, and especially of vessels of war, who, taking
advantage of their detention at anchor under the lee of the island, have
rummaged the sands in search of Indian remains, which have been car
ried to other lands, and are thus for ever lost to Mexico.
In 1841, Monsieur Dumanoir, who commanded the French corvette
Ceres, undertook to explore the island. In the centre of it he discovered
sepulchres, the bones in which were in admirable preservation ; vases of
clay, adorned with paintings and engraved ; arms, idols, collars, bracelets,
teeth of dogs and tigers, and a variety of architectural designs. In one
place he found a vase of white marble ; and in the Museum at Mexico
there is now preserved another, also found at Sacrificios, of which the
following is the classic shape and adornment :

I give the form of another vase found in this island, which, though nei-
thei 'beautiful no, -classical as the one above represented, is remarkable
tor the oddness of its outline.

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

97

This vessel is also made of a white transparent marble.

In a neighboring cabinet is seen a curious little figure, carved in ser
pentine. It appears to have been a charm or talisman, and in many
respects resembles the bronze figures which were found at Pompeii,
and are preserved in the Secret Museum at Naples. This relic was
discovered at St. Iago Tlaltelolco, immediately north of the city of Mexico ;
but the design appears to me too indelicate to be inserted in a work in
tended for general readers. It struck me as resembling the images used
of old in the worship of Isis, and if it does not serve as a link in the sup
posed connection between the Egyptians and the Mexicans, it certainly
exhibits as great a disregard for decency as characterized the great
" mother of ancient art and civilization."
The figures Nos. 1 and 2, on the next page, are drawings of two Indian
Axes or Hatchets, of stone, the first of which was discovered in Baltimore
County, State of Maryland, and the second near St. Louis Pot si, in
Mexico 1 I have contrasted them, as singularly alike in shaj e and
7

98

MEXICO.

material, both being grooved near the top for the purpose of fitting into
handle;— yet at what a distance from each other were they found!*

The next cut represents a couple of Indian Pipes, the larger one of
which is finely glazed with red.

* Axes of this shape and material have been found in many of our States. For an interesting notice of
them, vide Belknap's History of New Hampshire, vol. 3rd, p. 89. " The hatchet," says this writer, " is a hard
stone, eight or ten inches in length and three or four in breadth, of an oval form, flatted and rubbed to an edge
atone end; near the other is a groove, in which the handlewas fastened, and their process to do it was this:
When the stone was prepared, they chose a very young sapling, and splitting it near the ground, they forced the
hatchet v ito it as far as the groove, and left nature to complete the work by the growth of the wood, so as to fill
the groov. and adhere firmly to the stone. They then cut off the sapling above and below, and the hatchet ii
fit for use. '

NATIONAL MUSEUM. 99
At the western end of this room are several models of Mines, chiefly
made of the different stones found in the mineral regions of Mexico. The
figures are of silver ; and the various parts of the mine, the mode of ob
taining the ore, of freeing them from water, of sinking shafts, the dresses,
appearance and labors of the workmen, are most faithfully portrayed.
In one of the corners, behind a quantity of rubbish, old desks and
benches, is the Armor of Cortez — a plain unornamented suit of steel, from
the size of which, I judge that the Conqueror was not a man of large
frame or great bodily strength. Among the portraits of the Viceroys
contained in this apartment, there is one of Cortez ; and in it he is depicted
in a different manner from that in which we have been accustomed to
know him since our boyhood, when we first made his acquaintance in
school histories, drawn as a savage-looking hero with slouched hat and
feather and fur-caped coat. There is no doubt, I am told, of the genu
ineness of the picture in this Museum; and its history is traced with
certainty to the period of the third Viceroy, when the gallery of portraits
was commenced. It represents him in armor, highly polished, and in
laid with gold. One hand rests upon his plumed helmet and the other
on a truncheon. The figure is slender and graceful. I should say, from
the expression of the head alone, that the portrait was accurate. His
eyes are raised to heaven — his gray hair curls around a rather narrow
and not very lofty brow, and the lower part of his face is covered with
a grizzly beard and mustache, through which appears a mouth marked
with firmness and dignity. There is a look of the world, and of heaven ;
of veneration and authority. It is, in fact, a characteristic picture of the
bigoted soldier, who slew thousands in the acquisition of gold, empire,
and a new altar for the Holy Cross. Never was the biography of a hero
and enthusiast, more fully written in history, than has been done by the
unknown painter of this portrait on the canvas which embellished the
walls of the Colonial Palace of Mexico.
In the same room with this picture, hangs the banner under which he
conquered. It is in a large gold frame, covered with glass; and, as well
as I could distinguish in the bad light in which it is placed, represents
the Virgin Mary, painted on crimson silk, surrounded with stars and an
inscription. Just below this is an old Indian painting, made shortly after the con
quest, of which the following engraving is a facsimile. I copied it very
carefully, as an authentic record of some of the cruelties practiced by the
Spaniards in subduing the chiefs of the country, and striking terror to the
minds of the artless Indians.

100

MEXICO.

/-!t><l-i <fU*s~rter7iai-Yi,A.

¦ym-urraia.

The two figures in the left-hand corner are Cortez and Dona Marina.
as the mottoes above indicate. Marina holds a rosary in her hand, while
the Marquis appears to be in the act of speaking and perhaps giving
order for the execution represented beneath, where a Spaniard is seen in
the act of loosening a blood-hound, who springs at the throat of an Indian.
In the original copy all the colors are given. The hair of the victim is
erect with horror, his eyes and mouth are distended, and his throat is
spotted with blood, as the fangs and claws of the ferocious beast are driven
through his flesh.
Aptly placed just below this curious picture is another of the last of
the Kings of Tezcoco, of which I shall have occasion to speak hereafter;
and beneath that again, on a stand, in the midst of a number of hideous
idols carved in stone, are two Funeral Vases of baked clay, found some
years since at St. Jago Tlaltelolco, the northern suburb of the city.

F»,iErun VASE A»n CDVKR.

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

101

This is really one of the most beautiful relics in the Museum, and is
very accurately represented on the opposite page. It was discovered
about nine feet below the surface of the ground ; the upper portion of it
was filled with skulls, while the lower contained fragments of the rest
of the human frame. There appears to have been no bottom to the vase,
but it was covered with the circular top delineated in the engraving.
The whole vessel is one foot ten inches high, by one foot three and a half
inches in diameter.
This vase, besides being remarkable for the ornaments in relief upon
it, presents all the colors with which it was originally painted, in high
preservation and brilliancy. Immediately below the rim is a winged
head, with an Indian dress of plumes. The eyes are wide and fixed,
and the mouth is partly opened, displaying the teeth. The handles are
oddly shaped, and depending from the tips of the wings is a collar formed
of alternate ears of corn and sunflowers. The colors of the body of this
vase are* a bright azure ; the upper rim is a brilliant crimson, and the next
a light-pink. The head and the ends of the wings, with the stripe in the
middle, are painted a light-brown. The circular ornament in the centre
is crimson, and the figures on it yellow. The sunflowers are also yel
low, while the two outer ears of corn are red, and the centre one blue.
The band below these is brown, similar to the head and wings.
The head on this vase is very remarkable in its expression. There is
a fixed, intense, stony stare in the eyes, and a pinched sharpness about
the mouth, which denote its character. It was evidently the idea of an
Angel of death, while the full blown sunflower, and the ripe and stripped
ears of corn, denote the fullness of years.
In one of the cases are a series of interesting objects, of which the fol
lowing designs will give the reader some idea.

This is a rattle, made of baked clay, finely tempered, containing a
small ball, the size of a pea.

102

MEXICO.

The next figures are specimens of "household gods;" some of the
originals of which are now in my possession.
Like the ancient Romans, the Mexicans had their Penates, sailed by
them Tepitoton. The sovereigns, and great lords always had six of them
in their dwellings ; the nobles four, and the common people two ; and it
is related by Clavigero, that these gods were to be found everywhere in
their streets.

;§] [U m M i
tu m na m n

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

103

In this manner, the immense number of clay figures and fragments
which are constantly dug up in every excavation made in the city of
Mexico and its neighborhood, is satisfactorily accounted for.

104

MEXICO.

Besides the rattle, given before, there are remains, or traditions, of but
few other musical instruments known to the Mexicans. The Teponaztli
or Indian drum, is made of hollowed wood, the exterior being covered
with tasteful carving, of which the following designs will convey a faith
ful idea.

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

105

The sound was produced by striking the pieces of wood which extended,
without meeting, over the upper part of the cavity toward the centre of
the instrument.

These are whistles, made of baked clay, and covered with grotesque
figures in relief.

1

1

106 MEXICO
The last figures represent flageolets, made, like the whistles, of baked
clay. They have four stops, and the sound is, of course, very monotonous.
I have seen them used, even at the present day, in some religious ceremo-
nials of the Indians, as an accompaniment to a drum which, though not
shaped like the teponaztli, produced quite as little music.

Around the walls of this chamber of the Museum are hung old Indian
paintings of portions of Mexican history ; genealogies of the Mexican
monarchs ; computations of time ; plans of the city before the conquest,
and pictures of various battles and skirmishes that occurred between the
natives and the invaders. I regret to say that many of these are only
copies, the originals having been taken to England shortly after the estab
lishment of Independence, whence they have never been returned. They
are placed better there, perhaps, than they would be in Mexico ; where the
existing remains of antiquity excite no curiosity, and lie, from year to
year, covered with dust, and unexplored on the walls and in the closets
of a university. With the exception of Don Carlos Bustamante, I know no
one who has devoted an hour, of late years, to these interesting studies ;
and the curator of the Museum, Don Isidrio Gondra, is so continually oc
cupied with his political duties, in the editing of the Government Gazette,
and lacks so greatly the encouragement of the Government, and its dedi
cation of even a thousand dollars a year to archaiological researches, that
he does no more than open the doors of these saloons on stated days and
smoke his cigar quietly in a corner ; while the ladies, gentlemen, loafers
and leperos, wander from case to case, and lift up their hands in astonish
ment at the grotesque forms.
What those forms and figures mean ; what was represented by such
an idol, or what by another — receives the unfailing Mexican answer:
" Quien sabe ?" — " who knows ? who can tell ?"
But I must not leave this building, without some remarks on a vase,
of which the sketch on the next page is an accurate drawing, represent
ing both its sides.

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

107

108 MEXICO.
This vessel, which is of a beautiful yellowish clay, tempered almost as
finely as porcelain, and perfectly smooth and hard, is 9f inches high, 7
in diameter, and T3o of an inch thick. It was found in the Cerro del Te-
soro, or " hill of the treasure," in the prefecture of Tula and Department
of Mexico.
I have desired to place it before you for the purpose of comparing the
figures engraved on it with the style of the figures drawn by Mr. Cather-
wood, in Mr. Stephens's travels in Yucatan and elsewhere. Although
there are no figures to which I can at once and entirely assimilate these,
yet there is a general resemblance which cannot fail to strike the most
careless observer.
It will be recollected that Tula was the head-quarters, at one period, of
the tribes which afterward penetrated into the Valley of Mexico, and some
of which even continued still farther to the southward. May they not
have been the parent stock from which sprang the builders of the nume
rous cities which now lie in ruins in Yucatan ? And may not this vase
serve to show a connection between all the people who, at the time of the
conquest, dwelt on the narrow land which connects the Northern and
the Southern portions of our Continent ?
I recollect very well, with how much gusto Mr. Gondra brought it forth
for my inspection, after he had seen the designs of Mr. Catherwood, and
how perfectly his mind seems to be satisfied of the identity and charac
ter, origin and habits, of the people who formed this vessel and reared the
Temples of Palenque.

Beyond the room in which we have been so long detained, there is still
another apartment, devoted to Natural History. But the Present fares
no better than the Past. The birds and beasts are badly stuffed, badly
mounted, badly arranged ; and when I hoped to find a collection of miner
als, or, at least some rare specimens of the splendid ores of Mexico, sys
tematically arranged, I regret to say that I met with equal disappoint
ment. The last time I visited the Museum, I found on the centre table of the
saloon of antiquities, the armor of Alvarado. It was pleasant to know
that it had at length reached so appropriate a destination, after having
been hawked about the Capital by various brokers, who were at one period
on the eve of selling it to me, together with the hero's commission, signed
by the Emperor, for the sum of one hundred dollars ! The Government
gave one hundred and forty dollars for them, or I have no doubt that these
relics of one of the bravest of the conquerors, and the next in repute to
Cortez, would now adorn the walls of our National Institute.

1'KIIVAOMIQ.UI  PROFILE.

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TEllYAMiquI.  FRONT.

LETTER XVII.
TE0YA0MIQUI. MEXICAN MYTHOLOGY.
The chief antiquities of the Mexicans which have descended to our
times, are of a religious character, and their gods, their temples, their
pyramids, and their funeral vases, alone remain, after every other im
portant record of a material character has wasted before Time and the
bigoted rapacity of the Spaniards. An inquiry in relation to their reli
gion is therefore interesting, as a memorial of the past. Debase a nation
as much as you can ; crush out its spirit beneath the iron heel of despot
ism; tear from it and destroy every record of its greatness and its
ancestry ; yet the miserable remnant which survives the ruin, will still
retain, amid changed laws, changed customs, and even a changed faith,
the shadow of some of the rites, and the recollection of the gods who were
adored by its ancestors. The spirit seems to cling with traditionary fer
vor to the belief of our fathers. Thus, in Mexico, even after three cen
turies of the dominion of a foreign Priesthood, the Indian worship, (as I
shall have occasion hereafter to show,) still tinges the rites of the Catholic ;
and I have been credibly informed, that, even now, the keepers of the
University sometimes find garlands and flowers which have been hung
around that hideous statue, whose figure has just been exhibited in the
preceding engraving.
Clavigero (who, with Veytia, is unquestionably the best writer on Mex
ican history,) informs us, that the ancients believed there were three
places assigned to their departed spirits.
The soldiers who died in battle fighting for their country, or, who per
ished in captivity, and the souls of women who died in childbirth, went to
the House of the Sun, where they led a life of endless delight. " At
morning they hailed the luminary with music and dancing, attended him
in his journey to the meridian, where they met the souls of women, and
with similar festivities accompanied him to his setting."
After years of these pleasures their spirits were transformed into
clouds; birds ot beautiful plumage and pleasant song; but they had
power to ascend again, whenever they desired, to heaven. The ridicu

110 MEXICO.
lous notion of an aristocracy was carried by them even to the other world;
and while the nobles animated gorgeous birds and dazzling clouds, and
floated in the purest air, the souls of the common people were doomed
to crawl in weasels, beetles, and the meaner animals.
The spirits of those who were drowned, or struck by lightning; of those
who died with dropsy, tumors, wounds, or similar diseases ; went, with
the souls of children who had either been drowned or sacrificed in honor
of Tlaloc, "the god of the Water," to a delicious place named Tlalocan,
where that god resided, surrounded by everything that could contribute
to pleasure and happiness.
The third place of departed spirits was Mictlan or Hell. This was a
kingdom of utter darkness, ruled by a god and goddess, and the gloomy
blackness of the realm was the only punishment. Clavigero thinks that the
Mexicans placed this hell in the centre of the earth — and it may have
been but a type of utter annihilation.
They had some imperfect ideas of a Supreme God, whom they feared
and adored, yet represented by no external form, because they believed
him to be invisible. He was generally spoken of as Teotl — God — but
was known, also, by the name of Ipalnemoani, " He by whom we live;"
and Tloque Nahuaque, " He who has all in himself." They had also
an Evil spirit, inimical to mankind, called Tlaleatecolototl, " the Rational
Owl." This spirit was said to appear frequently to men, to terrify or
injure them ; but there is no distinct history of this wicked power, or of
their religious system as applied to it. After Teotl — the Supreme in
visible Being — there were thirteen others worshipped in Mexico as prin
cipal gods.
Tetzcatlipoca, the "Shining Mirror;" "the God of providence; the
Soul of the world ; the Creator of heaven and earth ; the Master of all
things." Ometeuctli and Omecihuatl, a god and goddess, who granted mor-
'tals their wishes. These divinities appear to have presided over new-born
children, and reigned in the " celestial paradise."
Cihuacohuatl, or "Woman Serpent;" also called Quilaztli or'Toua-
cacihua: "woman of our flesh;" was held to be the mother of the human
race, and was venerated next to Ometeuctli and Omecihuatl.
Tonatricli and Meztli, the sun and moon deified ; of whom I shall
have occasion to say something in describing the pyramids of St. Juan
Teotihuacan. Quetzalcoatl, concerning whom I have already written in my letter
on Cholula.
Tlaloc, " the god of Water ;" the fertilizer of the soil, the protector of
temporal goods. His image was painted blue and green, to represent the
hues of water, and in his hand he held an undulating and pointed rod to
signify his control over storms and lightning.
Xiuhteuctli, " master of the year and grass ;" the god of Fire. An
oblation of the first morsel and the first draught at dinner, was always

MEXICAN MYTHOLOGY. Ill
given him by the Mexicans ; and at the close of the festival in his honor
the fires in the temples and dwellings were extinguished, and rekindled
from the one lighted before the idol.
Centeotl, the " goddess of the Earth and Corn ;" and known, also, by
another word which signifies " she who supports us." This was a god
dess devotedly worshipped by the Totonacos, who believed that in the
course of time she would free them from the slavery of the other gods,
and abolish the horrors of human sacrifice. To her only were offered
doves, quails, leverets, and such harmless animals. She was a Mexican
Ceres. Mictlanteuctli, " the god of Hell," and his female companion. Sac
rifices were made to him at night, and his priests were clad in black
during their ministrations at the altars.
Joalteuctli, " the god of Night ;" was the divinity who gave sleep
to children, while Joalticitl was the goddess of cradles, and presided
over their infants in the watches of the night.
The next deity was the one most honored by the Mexicans, and re
garded as their chief protector — Huitzilipotchtli, or Mexitli, " the god
of War," the Mexican Mars.
This was the mighty power who became, (according to their tradition,)
the protector of the Mexicans ; conducted them through the years of their
pilgrimage, and at length, settled them on the spot where they afterward
founded the great city of Mexico.
" To him they raised that superb Temple so much celebrated by the
Spaniards. His statue was of gigantic size, in the posture of a man seated
on a blue-colored bench, from the corners of which issued four gigantic
snakes. His forehead was blue, and his face and the back of his head
were covered with golden masks. He wore a crest shaped like the beak
of a bird. On his neck was a collar of ten figures of the human heart.
In his right hand he bore a blue club, huge and twisted — in his left a
shield, on which appeared five balls of feathers disposed in the form of a
cross, while from the upper part of it rose a golden flag with four arrows,
which the Mexicans pretend to have been sent from heaven to perform
the glorious actions of his history. His body was girt with a large
golden snake, and adorned with various lesser figures of animals, made
of gold and silver and precious stones, each of which ornaments had a
peculiar meaning."*
Whenever war was contemplated by the Mexicans, this god was im
plored for protection, and they offered up to him a greater number of
human victims than to any of the other deities. The only figure I found
in Mexico upon which the antiquarians seemed agreed as to its represen
tation of this god, (though not with all the splendor described by Clavi
gero,) was the following : it is in bas-relief, and is in the collection of
Don Mariano Sanchez y Mora, ex-Conde del Penasco.
* Vide Clavigero and McCulloh.

112

I cannot conclude the account of this idol without referring to a tra
dition which is given in relation to him, by Acosta, in his Natural and
Moral History, book 4th, chap, xxiv., and is repeated by Clavigero and
Dr. McCulloh.
Two days before his festival, an idol representing him was made by
the sacred Virgins, of grains of parched corn and seeds of beets, mixed
together with honey or the blood of children. This they clothed with a
splendid dress and seated on a litter.
On the morning of the festal day this figure was borne in solemn pro
cession around the city of Mexico, and then carried to the temple, where
they had prepared a great quantity of the same paste of seeds and blood,
of which the priests also made an idol, called " the flesh and bones" of
Huitzilopotchtli .
After certain ceremonials and consecration, the image was sacrificed
as they sacrificed their human victims, " and his body was brojten into
small pieces, which, together with those portions called his 'flesh and bones,
were distributed among ihe people," who, according to Acosta, " received
the same with tears, fear and reverence, as if it was an admirable thing,
saying that they did eat the flesh and bones of God, wherewith they were
grieved. Such as had any sick folks," continues Acosta, " demanded
thereof for them, and carried it with great reverence and devotion."

MEXICAN MYTHOLOGY.

113

This extraordinary ceremonial was no coinage of the Spanish priests,
for Acosta calls it " a communion, which ihe devil himself, the prince of
pride, ordained in Mexico, to counterfeit ihe Holy Sacrament /"*
Thus magnificent as was the god of War, he did not disdain, accord
ing to tradition, to take unto himself a very hideous partner, whose mon
strous and horrible figure has been preserved to these times in the statue,
drawings of which are given at the commencement of this letter.
Teoyaomiqui, the wife of Huitzilopotchtli, was the goddess who con
ducted the souls of the warriors, who died in defence of their altars, to
the Mexican Elysium — the House of the Sun.
The figure on the opposite page represents the front of this idol — the
breasts denoting the sex. At the sides of these, and beneath, are four
hands, displaying the open palms, while above and between the hands are
sacks, or purses in the shape of gourds, which, according to Don Fernando
de Alvarado Tezozomoc, represented " the woven purses," of a blue color,
filled with copal, that were offered to the idol containing the sacred incense
used at the election and funeral ceremonies of Kings, and burned with
the bodies or hearts of the captives slain to accompany the deceased
sovereign on his journey to the world of spirits.
In front of the waist, a death-head is attached. The strap by which
these skulls are held, will be perceived in the second figure, which ex
hibits the statue in profile.
The knots of serpents, the feathers, the shells, and the nails or claws
forming the lower part of the figure, are said by De Gamaf to be the
insignia of other gods connected with Teoyaomiqui or her husband ;
while all those above the waist, both in front and behind, are symbols of
that deity herself. The top of the statue is represented in the following
drawing :

* The figure of the Holy Cross has been found in Mexico, and a drawing of one discovered at Palenque, rs
given by Mr. Stephens in his first volume. It is known that an idolatrous worship was paid it before the con-
qaest. In Egypt it was venerated from the greatest antiquity as the symbol of matter. Among the Irish it was
the symbol of knowledge, and Garcilnso de la Vega informs us, that the ancient Peruvians had " a cross of
white marble which they held in great veneration, but did not adore." They could give no reason for the respect
they paid it.
t P. 36. Discripcion Historica y Cronologica.
8

114 MEXICO.
And the next is a picture of its lower part or bottom:

It is the opinion of all the Mexican antiquarians, from the fact of this
sculpture in relief being found beneath the idol, and the additional fact
of the projections at the sides of the body near the waist, (as seen in the
first plate,) that the statue was suspended by them on pillars, so as to al
low the worshippers or the priests to pass with ease beneath the monster.
The idol represented on the base is supposed to be that of Mictlan-
teuhtli, the "god of Hell."
The height of this immense mass, carved from one solid block of basalt,
is nine feet, and its breadth about five and a half.
Such was one of the hideous gods worshipped by the ancient Mexicans.
In the year 1790, on the 13th of August, it was found at a short depth
below the surface of the great square. It was removed, some time after
ward, to the court-yard of the University, where it was buried again to
conceal it from the Indians, who might have been tempted by the devil, (as
was said by the priests,) to return to its idolatrous worship. . It is only
since the year 1821, that it has been exposed to public view in the in-
closure where I found it, and which I have described to you.

¦INOXS 1TI0IJIH0YS SO JOi

LETTER XVIII.

priests, temples, sacrifices.

The Priests have always borne an important part in Mexican affairs,
and it is stated, upon good authority, that at the height of the power of
the Empire, they numbered not less than one million in the service of the
different idols.
They were divided into different orders, and there were both monks and
priests, as among the Catholics. Women, also, entered into the sacred
order, and performed all the duties usually assigned to the males, except
that of sacrifice. The monks were called Hamacazques, and the priests
Teopixqui. They had two chiefs, who obtained their rank and power by lives of
exemplary probity and virtue, and by a profound acquaintance with all
the rites and mysteries of their religion. These were the " diviners" or
soothsayers, who were consulted by the authorities on all high matters of
state, both in peace and war. They officiated at the most solemn of their
sacrifices, and crowned the sovereign upon his accession to the throne.
On the principal festivals their dress was splendid, and bore the insignia
of the god in whose honor they officiated. To the minor priesthood,
all the humble duties of the temples were assigned ; they cleaned the
sacred edifice, educated the young, took care of the holy pictures, and
observed the Calendar.
Nor did they lack a resemblance to portions of the Catholic clergy, in
the austerity and mortification of their lives. Not only did they wear
sackcloth next their skin and apply the scourge in secret, but they shed
their own blood ; pierced themselves with the sharp points of the aloe ; and
bored their ears, lips, tongues, arms and legs, by introducing fragments
of cane, which they gradually increased in size, as their wounds began to
heal. Their fasts, too, were long and severe.
Each sex lived apart, leading a life of celibacy, in monastic establish
ments, and their income was derived from lands set aside for their main
tenance, — separate revenues being devoted to the support of the Temple.
8*

116 MEXICO.
It is in their sacred edifices that these people were the most remarkable,
and, as in Egypt, they are probably the only remains that will be discov-
ered in our day and generation.
I shall have occasion, hereafter, to give some descriptions of other Teo-
callis, " Houses of God" — and Teopans, " Places of God;" but I cannot
refrain, in this connection, from giving you some idea of the condition of
the great Temple of Mexico at the period of the conquest, as the account
of it comes from eye-witnesses, between whom there can by no possibility
have been a collusion to impose either upon the sovereign for whom the
one wrote, or, upon the mass of the Spanish nation to which the writings of
the others were addressed.
It is related that in the year 1486, Ahuitzotl, the eighth King of Mexico
and predecessor of Montezuma, completed the great Teocalli in his
capital. * This magnificent edifice occupied the centre of the city, and, together
with the other temples and buildings annexed to it, comprehended all that
space upon which the great Cathedral church now stands, part of the
greater market place, and part of the neighboring streets and buildings.
It was surrounded by a wall eight feet thick, built of stone and lime,
crowned 'with battlements in the form of niches, and ornamented with
many stone figures in the shape of serpents. Within this inclosure, it is
affirmed by Cort6z, that a town of five hundred houses might have been
built !
It had four gates fronting the cardinal points, and over each portal was
a military arsenal filled with needful equipments.
The space within the walls was beautifully paved with polished stones,
so smooth that the horses of the Spaniards " could not move over them
without slipping," and in the centre of this splendid area arose the great
Teocalli. This was an immense truncated pyramid of earth and stones,
composed of four stories or bodies ; an idea of which may perhaps be
obtained by an inspection of the following drawing, taken from one made
by the Anonymous Conqueror, which may be found in the collection of
Ramusis, and in the (Edipus Mgyptiacus of Father Kircher.
* I give the description of Clavigero and Dr. McCalloh, founded on the authority of Cortez's Letters to
Charles V , Bernal Diaz, Sahagun, and the Anonymous Conqueror.

GREAT TEOCALLI.

117

The top of this pyramid (as appears from the design) was not reached by
a flight of steps from the base on the front of the edifice, but by a stairway
passing from body to body; so that a person, in ascending, was obliged to
move four times around the whole of the Teocalli before he reached its
summit. The width of these spaces or stories, at the base of each body,
was five or six feet, and it is alleged that three or four persons abreast
could easily pass round them.
There is some difference of opinion among the old writers, as to the
dimensions of the mound ; but Clavigero, after a laborious investigation,
comes to the conclusion, if that the first body or base of the building,
was more than fifty perches long from east to west, and about forty-three
in breadth from north to south ; the second body was about a perch less in
length and breadth ; the third so much less than the second, and the rest
in proportion." Dr. McCulloh, relying on Gomara and Humboldt, states
that the mound was faced with stone, and was 320 feet square at the base,
and 120 feet high.
In the drawing just given, it will be observed that there are two towers
erected on the upper surface, and Clavigero so describes, the edifice ; but
the learned author of Researches on American Aboriginal History, found-

118 MEXICO.
ing his opinion on Gomara and Bernal Diaz, ventures to differ from Cla.
vigero. Diaz says there was but one, and those who read his work, inthe
original, will not fail to be struck with the air of accuracy and truth with
which the whole story of that brave old soldier is given from beginning
to end.
There is no question, however, that there was at least one tower, raised
to nearly the height of fifty-six feet. It was divided into three stories, the
lower one of stone and mortar ; the others of wood, neatly wrought and
painted. The inferior portion of this edifice was ihe Sanctuary ; wnere,
Diaz relates, two highly adorned altars were erected to Huitzilopotchtli
and Tezcatlipoca, over which the idol images were placed in state.
Before these towers, or tower, on two vases or altars, " as high as a man,"
a fire was kept day and night, and its accidental extinguishment was
dreaded, as sure to be followed by the wrath of Heaven.
In addition to this great Teocalli, there were forty other temples dedi
cated to the gods, within the area of the serpent-covered wall. There
was the Tezcacalli, or " House of Mirrors,", the walls of which were cov
ered with brightly shining materials. There was the Teccizcalli, a house
adorned with shells, to which the sovereign retired at times for fasting,
solitude and prayer. There were temples to Tezcatlipoca, Tlaloc, and
Qaetzalcoatl — the shrine of the latter being circular, while those of the
others were square. " The entrance" says Clavigero, " to this sanctuary
was by the mouth of an enormous serpent of stone, armed with fangs ; and
the Spaniards who, tempted by their curiosity, ventured to enter, after
ward confessed their horror when they beheld the interior." It is said,
that among these temples was one dedicated to the planet Venus ; and that
they sacrificed a number of prisoners, at the time of her appearance,
before a huge pillar, upon which was engraved the figure of a star.
The Colleges of the priests, and their seminaries, were likewise various
and perhaps numerous ; " but only five are particularly known, although
there must have been more, from the prodigious number of persons who
were found in that place consecrated to the worship of the gods."
Besides these edifices of religious retirement and learning, there was a
house of entertainment to accommodate strangers of eminence, who piously
came to visit the Temple, or to see the "grandeurs of the Court." There
were ponds, in which the priests bathed at midnight, and many beautiful
fountains, one of which was deemed holy, and only used on the most
solemn festivals.
Then there were gardens where flowers and sweet-smelling herbs were
raised for the decoration of the altars, and among which they fed the
birds used in sacrifices to certain idols. It is said, that there was even
a little wood or grove filled with " hills, rocks, and precipices," from
which, upon one of their solemn festivals, the priests issued in a mimic
chase. Without entering on a more extended description of the Mexican tem
ples, and the lives, character, and occupations of the priesthood, I will

GROUP FROM THE SIDE OF THE SACRIFICIU, STONE.

SACRIFICIAL STONE. 119
conclude this branch of an interesting antiquarian subject, by referring
all who are curious in such matters, to the very interesting volumes of
the Abbe Clavigero, who, after a residence of near forty years in the prov
inces of New Spain, composed his history of Mexico. His life had been
passed in deep study of the Indian and Spanish writers, and the results of
his well-digested labors have, after near half a century, passed to our
times as indisputable authority.
But after instructing you in some degree in the history of the priest
hood and the temples, it would be improper for me to leave the subject
without an account of the services to which they were both devoted.
The chief of these were the sacrifices — and in illustration of them, I
have placed at the commencement of this letter, a drawing of the large
circular stone now in the University of Mexico, known by the name of
the " Piedra de Sacrificios," or Sacrificial Stone. It is an immense mass
of basalt, nine feet in diameter and three in height, and was found in 1790,
below the great square of Mexico, on the site of the Teocalli, which I
have just described.
When first discovered, this stone was overturned ; but, upon reversing
it, carvings in bas-relief were seen on the surface, and the sides were
found to be beautifully sculptured, as will be observed in the opposite
plate. In the centre of the upper surface there is a circular cavity, from
which a canal, or gutter, leads to the circumference of the cylinder and
partly down its side. This, together with the sculpture, has induced most
writers to believe it to have been the stone on which the priests performed
their sacrifices, and that the blood) of the victims flowed from it by these
evident conduits. Yet other authors doubt whether it was ever appropri
ated to this use. It is true, that in the description of the great Temple
given by the old writers, it is alleged that in front of the tower, on the
summit, there was a large convex stone upon which they extended the
person who was to be sacrificed ; but it is highly probable that so huge a
mass of rock as this,* could not have been borne up such intricate passages
as the steps of the Teocalli, to the height of 120 feet. De Gama is of opin
ion that these stones were also found in the square below, in the temples,
or before the altars of other deities ; and, in the description of those in
the temples of Huitzilopolchtli and Tlaloc, Doctor Hernandez says they
were " convexas et orbiculari forma," and called "Techeatl." "Ante
has" (meusulas) " aderant lapidse orbiculari forma, quibus techeatl no
men, ubi servi, at in prosliis capti, in horum Deorum honorem macta-
bantur, k quibus lapidibus in parimentum usque in infernum civi sanguinei
conspiciebantur vestigia, quod etiam videbatur in cceteris turribus."
With these authorities, and apparent appropriateness from the cavi
ties already described, it is, nevertheless, the opinion of De Gama that this
was neither a Stone of Sacrifice, nor the Gladiatorial Stone. Such, how-
* Nine feet in diameter by three feet high.

120 MEXI.CO.
ever, is its name, and such the opinion of most persons in Mexico ; and,
although I should not perhaps, in justice, venture to express an opinion,
yet I cannot help believing with the majority.
When we look at the sculpture at the sides, we are struck with the fit
ness of the adornment for sacrificial ceremonies. The Mexicans un
doubtedly sacrificed the captives they had taken in battle, and the bas-relief
evidently represents a conqueror and a captive. The victor's hand is
raised in the act of tearing the plumes from his prisoner's crest, while the
captive bows beneath the indignity, and prostrates his arms : — and here let
me invite the reader's attention to the great similarity of these figures and
their dresses, to those delineated by Catherwood and Stephens, as having
been found in Yucatan and at Palenque.*

I will now give you some account of the Mexican Sacrifices. These
were of two kinds : the common sacrifice of human victims, and the
" Gladiatobial Sacrifice."
It is supposed, that neither the Toltecs nor Chechemicas permitted hu
man sacrifices, and that it was reserved for the successors of these occu
pants of the Vale of Anahuac to institute the abominable practice. The
history of the Aztec tribe reveals to us the fact, that it fought itself gradu
ally to power. The Mexicans founded their Empire first among the la-
gunes and marshes of the, lake; and it grew, by slow degrees, to the
power and wealth it possessed at the period of the conquest.
When I encounter in Mexican history a monstrous fact like this, of the
sacrifice to the gods of the unfortunate prisoners who had fallen into
their power in battle, I am not deterred, by its enormity, from inquiring
whether some secret policy may not have originated the horrid rite. The
mind naturally revolts at the idea that it sprang from a mere brutal love
of blood, or that a nation could, at any period of the world, have been so
cruel and so inhuman !
In reviewing, then, the history of the Empire of a weak but bold and
ambitious people — fighting for a foothold ; becoming powerful only as it
was able to inspire its enemies with terror ; unable to maintain, subdue,
or imprison its captives — we may ask ourselves, whether it was not rather
a stroke of savage statesmanship in the Chiefs of the time, to make a merit
of necessity, and a holy and religious rite of what, under other circum
stances and in a later period of the world, has been considered a murder ?
And such, I believe, to have been the beginning of the Mexican sacri
fices. A weak people unable to control, enslave, or trust its prisoners,
devoted them to the gods. But, in the progress of time, when that nation
had acquired a strength equal to any emergency, this ceremony, too, had
become a prescriptive usage — a traditionary and most important part of
the religion itself; and thus, what in its inception was the policy of fee-
» Vide Stephens's Yucatan, vol. i, pp. 412 and 03, and the plates opposite them.

HUMAN SACRIFICES.

121

bleness, ended in an established principle of the mythology of a powerful
and even civilized Empire.

Let us now proceed to consider the manner in which these sacrifices
were conducted.
The usual number of priests required at the altar was six, one of whom
acted as Sacrificer and the others as his assistants. The Chief of these,
whose office and dignity were preeminent, assumed at every sacrifice the
name of the deity to whom the oblation was made.
His dress was a red habit, like the Roman scapulary, fringed with cot
ton ; his head was bound with a crown of green and yellow feathers;
his ears were adorned with emeralds, and from his lips depended a tur
quoise. The other ministers at the rite were clad in white, embroidered
with black ; their locks bound up, their heads covered with leather thongs,
their foreheads filleted with slips of paper of various colors, and their
bodies dyed entirely black.
They dressed the victim in the insignia of the god to whom he was to
be offered; adored him as they would have adored the divinity himself;
and bore him around the city asking alms for the temple. He was then
carried to the top of the temple and extended upon the stone of sacrifice.
Four of the priests held his limbs, and another kept his head or neck
firm with a yoke, an original of which is preserved in the Museum, and
is here represented.

sacrificial yoke.

122

MEXICO.

Thus arranged, the body of the captive lay arched over the rounded
stone, with the breast and stomach stretched and raised.
The Topiltzin, or Sacrificer, then approached with a sharp knife of
obsidian.

SACRIFICIAL KNIFE OF OBSIDIAN.

He made an incision in the victim's breast ; tore out his heart with his
hand ; offered it to the sun, and then threw it palpitating at the feet of the
god. If the idol was large and hollow, it was usual to insert the heart in
its mouth with a golden spoon ; and at other times it " was taken up from
the ground again, offered to the idol, burned, and the ashes preserved with
the greatest veneration."
" After these ceremonies," says Dr. McCulloh, " the body was thrown
from the top of the temple, whence it was taken by the person who had
offered the sacrifice, and carried to his house, where it was eaten by him
self and friends. The remainder was burned, or carried to the royal
menageries to feed the wild beasts /"
At times they offered only flowers, fruits, oblations of bread, cooked
meats, (like the Chinese,) copal and gums, quails, falcons, and rabbits;
but, at the feasts of some of the deities, especially every fourth year,
among the Quauhtitlans, the rites were dreadfully inhuman.
Six trees were then planted in the area of the temple, and two slaves
were sacrificed, from whose bodies the skin was stripped, and the thigh
bones withdrawn. On the following day, " clad in the bloody skins with
the thigh-bones in their hands," two of the chief priests slowly descended
the steps of the temple, with dismal howlings, while the multitude assem
bled below shouted, " Behold our gods !"
At the base of the temple they danced to the sound of music, while the
people sacrificed several thousand quails. When this oblation was ter
minated, the priests fastened to the tops of the trees six prisoners, who
were immediately pierced with arrows. They then cut the bodies from
the trees and threw them to the earth, where their breasts were torn
open, and the hearts wrenched out according to the usual custom. This
bloody and cruel festival was ended by a banquet, in which the priests
and nobles of the city feasted on the quails and the human flesh !

HUMAN SACRIFICES.

123

The other mode of sacrifice, as I have before said, was the " Gladia
torial."

GLADIATORIAL STONE.

The stone, of which the foregoing plate is an outline, was, (like the
Sacrificial Stone,) found in the great square of Mexico, where it still lies
buried, for want of the trifling sum required to disinter it once more, and
place it in the Museum.
When the square was undergoing repairs, some years past, this monu
ment was discovered a short distance beneath the surface. Mr. Gondra
endeavored to have it removed, but the Government refused to incur the
expense ; and its dimensions, as he tells me, being exactly those of the
Sacrificial Stone, (viz. nine feet by three,) he declined undertaking it on
his own account. Yet, anxious to preserve, if possible, some record of
the carving with which it was covered, (especially as that carving was
painted with yellow, red, green, crimson, and black, and the colors still

124 MEXICO.
quite vivid,) he had a drawing made, of which the sketch in this work is
a fac-simile. Mr. Gondra believes it to have been the Gladiatorial Stone, placed per
haps opposite the great Sacrificial Stone, at the base of the Teocalli.
This, however, would not agree with the accounts of some of the old
writers, who, although they agree that this stone was circular, as is signi
fied by its name, (Temalacatl) yet state that its surface was smooth, and
had in its centre a bore or bolt, to which the captive was attached, as
will be hereafter described.
The figures represented on the stone in relief, are evidently those of
warriors armed, and ready for the strife ; and I have thought it proper to
give the picture of it to the public, for the first time, (subject, of course,
to all critical observations,) with the hope that if it be not the Gladiatorial
Stone, those who are more learned in Mexican antiquity, may some day
discover what it really is. It is certainly remarkable for the colors,
which are yet fresh; and for the' figure of the "open hand," which is
sculptured on a shield and between the legs of some of the figures of
the groups at the sides. This "open hand" was a figure found by Mr.
Stephens, in almost every temple he visited, during his recent explora
tions of Yucatan.*

The Gladiatorial Sacrifice — the most noble of them all — was reserved
alone for captives renowned for courage.
In an area, near the temple, large enough to contain a vast crowd of
spectators, upon a raised terrace eight feet from the wall, was a circular
stone, " resembling a mill-stone," says Clavigero,-!- " which was three feet
high, well polished, and with figures cut on it." On this the prisoner was
placed, tied by one foot, and armed with a small sword and shield, while
a Mexican soldier or officer, better armed and accoutred, mounted to en
counter him in deadly conflict. The efforts of the brave prisoner were
of course redoubled to save his life and fame, as were those of the Mex
ican, whose countrymen gazed with anxiety upon him as the vindicator
of their nation's skill and glory. If the captive was vanquished in the
combat, he was immediately borne " to the altar of common sacrifice,"
and his heart torn out, while the multitude applauded the victor, who was
rewarded by his sovereign. Some historians declare, that if the prisoner
Vanquished one combatant he was free ; but Cortez tells us that he was
not granted his life and liberty until he had overcome six. It was then,
only, that the spoils taken from him in war were restored, and he was
allowed to return to his native land.
It is related that once when the chief lord of the Cholulans had become
captive to the Huexotzincas, he overthrew, in the gladiatorial fight, seven
t Clavigero, vol. ii., 280.
* I have not caused the figures on the sides of Uiis stone to be engraved in Uie present edition.

HUMAN SACRIFICES. 125
of the foes who came to encounter him ; and being thus entitled to bis
fortune and liberty, he was nevertheless slain by his enemies, who feared
so valiant and fortunate a chieftain. By this perfidious act, the nation
rendered itself eternally infamous among all the rest.
The number of the victims, with whose blood the Teocallis of Mexico
were in this manner, and in the "common sacrifice" annually deluged,
is not precisely known. Clavigero thinks 20,000 nearer the truth than
any of the other relations ; but the question may well be asked, Whence
came the subjects to glut the gods with these periodical sacrifices? It
seems that, no land could furnish them without depopulation.
In the consecration of the Great Temple, however, which, it is related,
took place in the year 1486, under the predecessor of Montezuma, there
appears no doubt among those who have most carefully examined the
matter, that its walls and stairways, its altars and shrines, were baptized
and consecrated with the blood of more than sixty thousand victims. " To
make these horrible offerings" says the historian, " with more show and
parade, they ranged the prisoners in two files, each a mile and a half in
length, which began in the woods of Tacuba and Iztpalapan, and termin
ated at the Temple, where, as soon as the victims arrived, they were
sacrificed." Six millions of people, it is said, attended, and if this is not an exag
geration of tradition, there can be no wonder whence the captives sprung,
or why the rite of sacrifice was instituted. If anything can pardon the
cupidity and blood-thirstiness of the Christian Spaniard, for his overthrow
of the Temple and Monarchy of Mexico, it is to be found in the cruel
murders which were perpetrated, by the immolation of thousands of im
mortal beings to a blind and bloody idolatry.

LETTER XIX.

THE MEXICAN CALENDAR. FIRE-WORSHIP, ETC.

MEXICAN CALENDAR. 127
The carved stone represented in the plate was found in the year 1790,
about six feet below the surface of the Plaza, in the city of Mexico. The
opinion of the best antiquarians is, that it was the Tonalponalli, or " solar
reckoning " of the ancient Mexicans, derived by them probably from the
Toltecs. Before describing this relic, I will present a brief account of the
division of time among these nations, illustrating in this manner and by
the stone itself, one branch of the arts and sciences, at least, in which
they had made a great and civilized progress.
The Mexicans had two Calendars by which they computed Time ; the
first being used for the " reckoning of the moon," and the regulation of
their religious festivals, and the other for the " reckoning of the sun," or
civil purposes.
Their civil year consisted of 18 months of 20 days each, by which
division they gave the year 360 days ; but the remaining five days were
added to the last month, and bore the name of nemonlemi, or " useless
days." The tropical year being six hours longer than 365 days, they lost a
day every four years ; but this fact appears to have been entirely disre
garded by them in their calculations, until the expiration of their cycle
of 52 years ; when, having lost, in all, 13 days, they added that number
to the period, before they commenced another cycle.
The 18 months had each a name derifed from some festival, bird,
plant, or fruit, occurring or appearing at that season, which name was
designated by a peculiar hieroglyphic. The 20 days of the month had
also each a name and mark, that was ever the same in all the eighteen.
They reckoned by cycles of 52 years ; and subdivided the months into
four periods, or weeks of five days ; each day of which commenced,
as among the Romans and other nations, at sunrise, and was separated
into eight portions.*

The stone (of which I have presented an extremely accurate drawing
from one made with the greatest care by De Gama,) is now walled against
the base of one of the towers of the Cathedral, where it passes by the
name of el Relox de Montezuma, or " Montezuma's watch." It is a vast
mass of basalt, eleven feet eight inches in diameter, and the circular portion
is raised by a rim of about 7^ inches from the broken square of basalt,
out of which the whole was originally carved. This rim is adorned with
the sculpture represented in the second figure.
De Gama, in his " Discripcion Historica," has prepared a long and
very learned account of the various figures and symbols with which this
Calendar is covered, and from his observations, and those of Nebel, I have
* McCulloh's Res : 201, et seq.

128 MEXICO.
digested the following description. Involved as almost all antiquarian
researches are in obscurity, and free as those who engage in them are to
mix up their fancies and theories 'with the slightest facts upon which they
can found a hypothesis, I confess that ] do not rely entirely upon the
surmises of the writers I have cited. Yet they are the only persons who
have hitherto attempted to unravel the mystery, and I am therefore obliged
either to present their conjectures or none.
The large head in the centre, with a protruding tongue, is said to repre
sent the sun ; while the triangular figures marked with the letter R, and
the other figures marked with the letter L, denote the larger and lesser
rays with which the Indians surrounded that luminary.
Around this central sun are four squares, denoted by A, B, C, D,
which, together with the circular figures E F at the sides of the triangle,
I, at the top, and the character H at the bottom, combined, (according to
De Gama,) to form the symbol of the sun's movement — or perhaps the
symbols of the four weeks into which the month was divided.
The hieroglyphs denoted by the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. up to 20,
are the days of the month, and the rest of the figures around the zone are
somewhat fancifully said to represent the milky way known to the an
cients by the name of Ciilalinycue. By an equal stretch of the imagina
tion, the waving lines, marked V, are supposed to indicate the clouds,
which were venerated as gods called Almaque, the inseparable com
panions of Tlaloc De Gama thinks that the small squares at e are
symbols of the mountains where the clouds are formed. Such are the
satisfactory conjectures of antiquarians !
Gnomons were placed in the holes at X, Z, PP, Q.Q., and YY ; the
stone was then set up vertically due east and west, with its carved face
to the south, and by means of threads stretched from the tops of the gno
mons and the shadows they cast on the surface of the stone, the seasons
of the year, and the periods of the day, were determined with astronomi
cal accuracy.

Various other carved stones intended for astronomical purposes, have
been discovered at different times throughout the Valley of Mexico and
its neighborhood. De Gama relates, that " in the year 1775, while labor
ers were excavating at the hill of Chalpultepec, they laid bare a cluster
of curiously sculptured rocks, which, after a careful examination, he
believed had once formed a portion of the system by which the Mexicans
determined the exact periods of sunrise and sunset at the equinoxes, and
regulated the time during the remainder of the year." But when he
returned to the hill for the purpose of further investigation, he found these
rocks and all their carving had been destroyed by the ignorant excavators,

FIRE WORSHIP. 129
through the utter carelessness and neglect of the authorities of the place.
The same fate was shared by another astronomical erection, which was
found on the hill of Tezcosingo, on the eastern side of the lake of Tez
coco, to which I shall have occasion to allude in an account of a visit I
paid to the pyramids of St. Juan Teotihuacan.
These are the few hasty and very imperfect sketches I have collected,
to illustrate one branch of the art and science of these people ; and I will
conclude them by an account of a singular superstition which is related
by the Baron Humboldt to have existed, in regard to the termination of
their cycle of 52 years. They firmly believed that the sun would return
no more* on his diurnal course, and that evil spirits would descend to
destroy mankind !
" On the last day of the great cycle the sacred fires were extinguished
in all their temples and dwellings, and the people devoted themselves to
prayer. At the approach of night no one dared to kindle a flame — their
vessels of clay were broken, their garments rent, and whatever was pre
cious destroyed as useless in the approaching ruin. In this mad super
stition, pregnant women became the objects of peculiar horror to men;
they covered their faces with paper masks, they imprisoned them in their
granaries; and believed that when the final catastrophe occurred, these
unfortunate females, transformed into tigers, would join with the demons
and avenge themselves for the injustice and cruelty of men.
"As soon as it became dark on that awful evening, a grand and
solemn procession of the "New Fire" was commenced. The priests put
on the garments of the various idols, and followed by the sad and bewild-
ered people, ascended a hill about six miles from the city.
" This mournful march was called the " procession of the gods," and
was supposed to be their final departure from their temples and altars.
" When the solemn train had reached the top of the hill, it rested until
the pleiades ascended to the zenith, and then commenced the sacrifice of
a human victim, stretched on the stone of sacrifice, and covered on the
breast with a wooden shield which the chief priest inflamed by friction.
" The victim received the fatal blow or wound from the usual obsidian
knife of sacrifice, and as soon as life was extinct, the machine to create
fire was put in motion on the board over his bosom. When the blaze had
kindled, the body was thrown on an immense pile, the flames of which
instantly ascended into the air, and denoted the promise of the sun's re
turn ! All who had been unable to join in the sacred procession of the
departing gods, had climbed to the terraces of houses and the tops of
Teocallis, whence they strained their eyes toward the spot where the
hoped-for flame was to appear , and as soon as it burst upon their sight,
hailed it with joyful shouts and acclamations, as a token of the benevolence
of the gods and the preservation of their race for another cycle.
"Runners, placed at regular distances from each other, held aloft
torches of resinous pine, by which they transferred the new fire to each
other, and carried it from village to village, throughout the Empire, de-
9

130 MEXICO.
positing it anew in every temple, whence it was again distributed to the
dwellings of the people.
" When the sun arose above the horizon on the succeeding day, the
shouting and joy were renewed by the people in the city, toward which
at that moment the priests and crowd took up the line of returning march.
It was the restoration of their gods to their deserted shrines !
" The imprisoned women were immediately released ; the whole popu
lation clad themselves in new garments ; the temples were purified and
whitened, and everything that was requisite for domestic comfort, splendor
or necessity, was renewed under the promise of renewed life and protec
tion from the gods." '
There is scarcely a country of the world, in which there are not or
nave not been traces of this adoration of the sun, the great source of life,
light, fruition, and beauty ; and, among the brutal rites of the Mexican
priesthood, it is gratifying to observe a festival like this which has in itself
something natural and dramatic.

LETTER XX.

THE CITY OF MEXICO AS IT WAS AT THE CONQUEST.
After having given an account of the antiquities which survived the
ravages of the conquerors, (who, with a blind zeal to establish their
power and religion, overthrew temple, tower, and almost every record of
the Indians,) it has struck me that a notice or sketch of the city of Mon
tezuma, its sovereign and people, would not be uninteresting to even the
most careless reader. I have, therefore, gathered from the letters of
Cort6z to the Emperor Charles the V., and the history of Bernal Diaz del
Castillo, such accounts as appear to be most authentic, not only because
they impress us with the grandeur and advanced civilization of the
Indians, but because they may probably serve to establish a connection
between the inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico and the people who,
dwelling farther south, were the builders and occupants of the temples
and palaces which have lately been revealed to us in the picturesque
pages of Stephens and Catherwood. N
" The province which constitutes the principal territory of Montezuma,"
(says Cortez in his letter to Charles the V.,) " is circular, and entirely sur
rounded by lofty and rugged mountains, and the circumference of it is
full seventy leagues. In this plain there are two lakes which nearly oc
cupy the whole of it, as the people use canoes for more than fifty leagues
round. One of these lakes is of fresh water, and the other, which is
larger, is of salt water. They are divided, on one side, by a small col
lection of high hills, which stand in the centre of the plain, and they unite
in a level strait formed between these hills and the high mountains, which
strait is a gun-shot wide, and the people of the cities and other settlements
which are in these lakes, communicate together in their canoes by water,
without the necessity of going by land. And as this great salt lake ebbs
and flows with the tide, as the sea does, in every flood the water flows
from it into the other fresh lake as impetuously as if it were a large river,
and consequently at the ebb, the fresh lake flows into the salt.
" This great city of Temixtitlan, (meaning Tenotchtitlan, Mexico,) is
founded in this salt lake ; and from terra firma to the body of the city, the
distance is two leagues on which ever side they please to enter it.
" It has four entrances, or causeways, made by the hand of man, as wide
as two horsemen's lances.
9*

132 MEXICO.
/ " The city is as large as Seville and Cordova. The streets (I mean the
principal ones,) are very wide, and others very narrow ; and some of the
latter and all the others are one-half land and the other half water, along
which the inhabitants go in their canoes ; and all the streets, at given
distances, are open, so that the water passes from one to the other ; and
in all their openings, some of which are very wide, there are very wide
bridges, made of massive beams joined together and well wrought ; and
so wide that ten horsemen may pass abreast over many of them."
Bernal Diaz del Castillo gives the following account of the entry of
the Spaniards into this city, on the 8th of November, 1519 ; the period
of their first visit to Montezuma, and before they had treacherously ob-
tained possession of the monarch's person.
" We proceeded," says he, " by the great causeway, that runs in a
straight line to the city. It was crowded with people, as were all the
towers, temples, and causeways, in every part of the lake, attracted by
curiosity to behold men and animals such as never before had been seen
in these countries. When we arrived at a place where a small cause
way turns off to the city Cuyoacan, we were met by a great many of the
lords of the court, sent, as they said, before the great Montezuma, to bid
us welcome.
" When we arrived near certain towers which were almost close to
the city, Montezuma, who was then in the neighborhood, quitted his litter
that was borne in the arms of the Princes of Tezcoco, Iztapalapa, Tacuba,
and Cuyoacan, under a canopy of the richest materials, ornamented with
green feathers, gold, and precious stones, that hung in the manner of fringe.
He was most richly dressed and adorned, and wore buskins of pure gold
ornamented with jewels. The princes who supported him were dressed
in rich habits, different from those in which they had come to meet us
previously; and others, who preceded the monarch, spread mantles on
the ground lest his feet should touch it. All who attended him, except
the four princes, kept their eyes fixed on the earth, not daring to look him
in the face."
They entered the city. " Who," continues Diaz, " could count the
multitudes of men, women, and children, who thronged the streets, canals,
and terraces, and the tops of the houses, on that day !
" The whole of what I saw on this occasion is so strongly imprinted on
my memory, that it appears to me as if it had happened only yesterday.
Glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave us courage to venture on such
dangers, and brought us safely through them !"
Lodgings were provided for the Spaniards by the luxurious and lavish
monarch — they were fed and entertained at his cost, and presents were
made to all. " Montezuma," says the historian, " made signs to one of
his principal attendants, to order his officers to bring him certain pieces
of gold to give to Cortez — together with ten loads of fine stuffs which he
divided between Cortez and his captains, and to every soldier he gave
two collars of gold, each worth ten crowns, and two loads of mantles ; and

MONTEZUMA.

133

the gold amounted, in value, to upward of a thousand crowns ; and he gave
it with an affability and indifference which made him appear a truly
magnificent prince."
He then proceeds, after some other details, to give an account of the
personal appearance of this sovereign, and of the style and splendor of
his court.
" The great Montezuma was, at this time, aged about 40 years, of good
stature, well proportioned, and thin. His complexion was much fairer
than that of the Indians ; he wore his hair short, just covering his ears,
with very little beard, well arranged, thin and black. His face was
rather long, with a pleasant mien and good eyes ; gravity and good-humor
were blended together when he spoke. He was very delicate and cleanly
in his person, bathing himself every evening. He had a number of mis
tresses of the first families, and two princesses, his lawful wives ; when
he visited them, it was with such secrecy that none could know it except
his own servants. He was clear of all suspicions of unnatural vices.
The clothes which he wore one day he did not put on for four days after.
He had set two hundred of his nobility as a guard in apartments adjoining
his own. Of these only certain persons could speak to him, and when they
went to wait upon him, they took off their rich mantles and put on others
of less ornament, but clean. They entered his apartment barefooted,
their eyes fixed on the ground, and making three inclinations of the body
as they approached him. In addressing the king they said, " Lord — my
lord — great lord !" When they had finished, he dismissed them with a
few words, and they retired with their faces toward him and their eyes
fixed on the ground. I also observed, that when great men came from a
distance about business, they entered his palace barefooted, and in plain
habit ; and also, that they did not enter the gate directly, but took a circuit
in going toward it.
" His cooks had upward of thirty different ways of dressing meats, and
they had earthen vessels so contrived as to keep them constantly hot.
For the table of Montezuma himself, above three hundred dishes were
dressed, and for his guards above a thousand. Before dinner, Montezuma
would sometimes go out and inspect the preparations, and his officers would
point out to him which were the best, and explain of what birds and flesh
they were composed ; and of those he would eat. But this was more for
amusement than anything else.
" It is said, that at times the flesh of young children was dressed for him ;
but the ordinary meats were domestic fowls, pheasants, geese, partridges,
quails, venison, Indian hogs, pigeons, hares and rabbits, with many other
animals and birds peculiar to the country. This is certain — that after
Cortez had spoken to him relative to the dressing of human flesh, it was
not practiced in his palace. At his meals, in the cold weather, a number
of torches of the bark of a wood which makes no smoke, and has an aro
matic smell, were lighted ; and, that they should not throw too much heat,
screens, ornamented with gold and painted with figures of idols, were
placed before them.

134 MEXICO.
" Montezuma was seated on a low throne or chair, at a table propor-
tioned to the height of his seat. The table was covered with white cloths
and napkins, and four beautiful women presented him with water for his
hands, in vessels which they call xicales, with other vessels under them,
like plates, to catch the water. They also presented him with towels.
" Then two other women brought small cakes of bread, and, when the
King began to eat, a large screen of gilded wood was placed before him,
so that during that period people should not behold him. The women
having retired to a little distance, four ancient lords stood by the throne,
to whom Montezuma, from time to time, spoke or addressed questions, and
as a mark of particular favor, gave to each of them a plate of that which
he was eating. I was told that these old lords, who were his near rela-
tions, were also counsellors and judges. The plates which Montezuma
presented to them they received with high respect, eating what was on
them without taking their eyes off the ground. He was served in earth
enware of Cholula, red and black. While the King was at the table,
no one of his guards in the vicinity of his apartment dared, for their
lives, make any noise. Fruit of all kinds produced in the country, was
laid before him ; he ate very little ; but, from time to time, a liquor pre
pared from coco, and of a stimulative quality, as we were told, was pre
sented to him in golden cups. We could not, at that time, see whether
he drank it or not ; but I observed a number of jars, above fifty, brought
in, filled with foaming chocolate, of which he took some that the women
presented him.
" At different intervals during the time of dinner, there entered certain
Indians, humpbacked, very deformed, and ugly, who played tricks of
buffoonery ; and others who, they said, were jesters. There was also a
company of singers and dancers, who afforded Montezuma much enter
tainment. To these he ordered the vases of chocolate to be distributed.
The four female attendants then took away the cloths, and again, with
much respect, presented him with water to wash his hands, during which
time Montezuma conferred with the four old noblemen formerly men
tioned, after which they took their leave with many ceremonies.
" One thing I forgot (and no wonder,) to mention in its place, and that
is, that during the time that Montezuma was at dinner, two very beautiful
women were busily employed making small cakes* with eggs and other
things mixed therein. These were delicately white, and, when made,
they presented them to him on plates covered with napkins. Also another
kind of bread was brought to him in long leaves, and plates of cakes re
sembling wafers.
" After he had dined, they presented to him three little canes, highly
ornamented, containing liquid-amber, mixed with an herb they call to
bacco; and when he had sufficiently viewed and heard the singers, dancers,
and buffoons, he took a little of the smoke of one of these canes, and then
laid himself down to sleep.
* No doubt tortillias, or maize cokes-still the staff of life with all tie Indians, and, indeed, a favorite and
daily food of all classes of

MONTEZUMA.

135

" The meal of the monarch ended, all his guards and domestics sat
down to dinner; and, as near as I could judge, above a thousand plates of
those eatables that I have mentioned, were laid before them, with vessels
of foaming chocolate and fruit in immense quantity. For his women
and various inferior servants, his establishment was of a prodigious ex
pense ; and we were astonished, amid such a profusion, at the vast regu-
larity that prevailed.

Wi

k

MEXICAN ARMS.

136 MEXICO.
" His major domo was, at this time, a prince named Tapica ; who kept the
accounts of Montezuma's rents in books which occupied an entire house.
" Montezuma had two buildings filled with every kind of arms, richly
ornamented with gold and jewels ; such as shields, large and small clubs
like two-handed swords,* and lances much larger than ours, with blades
six feet in length, so strong that if they fix in a shield they do not break;
and sharp enough to use as razors,
" There was also an immense quantity of bows and arrows, and darts,
together with slings, and shields which roll up into a small compass, and
in action are let fall, and thereby cover the whole body. He had also
much defensive armor of quilted cotton, ornamented with feathers in dif
ferent devices, and casques for the head, made of wood and bone, with
plumes of feathers, and many other articles too tedious to mention."
In this Palace, where the Emperor dwelt in almost oriental splendor,
he had his gardens, and ponds, and aviaries. At Chapultepec, a hill on
the west of the city, he owned another palace, amid groves, fountains and
trees, and many of the cypresses with which the grounds were adorned
still remain in all their vigor. Besides these, he had his menageries,
where every species of wild beast, venomous serpent, curious fish, and
bird of beautiful plumage, were gathered together and watched by innu
merable attendants.
Soon after the arrival of Cortez in Mexico, he expressed to the Emperor
a desire to see his city ; and, with all becoming pomp and ceremony,
(having first of all consulted his priests as to the propriety,) he took his
future conqueror to the top of the great Temple, whence he beheld the
splendor of the Indian capital.
Streets, canals, shrines ; large and beautiful houses, amid groves and
gardens ; markets, where every luxury of fruit and vegetable was to be
found ; aqueducts, which brought sweet water from the hills ; streets
filled with artists who wove the most beautifully pictured garments from
plumes of birds, or fashioned the precious metals into gorgeous orna
ments ; — palaces, where the nobles dwelt in all the magnificence of bar
baric wealth ; — all these lay in splendor beneath him, while the land and
water swarmed with an active but superstitious multitude, and the lakes
beyond bore them across its silvery surface, dotted with floating gardens,
* Called miquahuitl. Ther were composed of a stout club of wood, into the sides of which square and
sharpened pieces of flint or obsidian were fastened at equal distances, as will be seen in figure A in the cut
They are described by Acosta as having been most formidable weapons ; and he declares that he has seen the
skull of a horse cleft in twain by one of them at a single blow. The foregoing designs are taken either from
ancient paintings, or from the arms themselves, preserved in the Museum at Mexico. Opposite to page 413, of
Mr. Stephens's first volume of Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, there is a plate representing the sculptured figures
on the jamb of a doorway from the ruins of Kabah. In the hands of a kneeling figure in the group, there is a
weapon, which the reader, if he takes the trouble to compare the preceding drawing and the plate, will not fail
to recognize at a glance, to be a miquahuitl. This iucontestibly proves an identity of arms between the ancient
Mexicans and Yucatecos ; and it proves something ?nore, because it is known that these battle-axes were used
by the Mexicans at the period of the conquest.
The sculptured jamb was removed from Yucatan by Mr. Stephens, and arrived safely in the United States.
It escaped the loss by fire of the rest of his valuable collection, but was thrown down and broken by a careless
and inquisitive street passenger, while unloading from the car that conveyed it from the vessel.

THE CONQUEST. 137
to the foot of mountains, where the sunshine for ever warmed the fruits and
flowers into vigorous life.
Such was the city of Mexico, and the style of the Emperor; but it was
not alone in externals, that the nation was great and powerful. It was
regulated by good laws, well and speedily administered ; the relations of
life were recognized and guarded ; it fostered a good system of education ;
the arts were cultivated and encouraged; architecture had advanced
to a high degree of excellence ; the knowledge of astronomy, and of the
calculation of time, was exact and scientific ; they were powerful in war;
they had built a vast Empire, springing from a sparse tribe which found
its first home among the reeds and marshes of the lake where they had
hidden for safety from their foes ; and, although their religious rites were
brutal and bloody, they still had some glimmering ideas of an invisible
and omnipotent God. It was a nation of splendid contradictions, where
social elegance and comfort were almost unequalled, and yet where reli
gious brutality was quite as unparalleled.
The sight of this splendid city was too tempting for Cortez — " The king
doms of the world were at his feet." He had resolved, before, to attempt
the entire subjugation of this people ; and the view of this wealth only
stimulated his resolution, while the bloody rites* of the Temple aided in
exciting his ambition to give another land of idolatry to the control of the
Holy Cross.
He soon afterward seized the King, and, as some assert, caused him to
be put to death, or to be so exposed that his death was inevitable ; yet,
when the wonted spirit of the Mexicans was aroused, his troops were
driven from the Capital.
He returned with Indian allies. He invested the city with a sort of
mimic navy, which he launched on the lake from Tezcoco ; and at length,
after a severe struggle, the Capital fell into his hands.
" What I am going to say is truth, and I swear, and say Amen to it !"
(exclaims Bernal Diaz del Castillo, in his quaint style :) "I have read of
the destruction of Jerusalem, but I cannot conceive that the mortality
there exceeded that of Mexico ; for all the people from the distant prov
inces, which belonged to this Empire, had concentrated themselves here,
where they mostly died. The streets, and squares, and houses, and the
courts of the Tlatelolcoj" were covered with dead bodies ; we could not

* " The walls and pavements of this Temple," says Bernal Diaz, " were so besmeared with blood, that they
stunk worse than all the slaughter-houses of Castile." Further on he says : " At the door stood frightful idols ;
by it was a place for sacrifice, and within, boilers, and pots full of water, to dress the jltsh of victims, which
was eaten by the priests. The idols were like serpents and devils : and before them were tahles and knives for
sacrifice, the place being covered with blood which was spilt on those occasions. The furniture was like that
of a butcher's stall ; and I never gave this accursed building any name except that of Hell I In another temple
were thetombsof tlie Mexican nobihty. It was begrimed with soot andblood. Next to tliis, was another,/tf#
of skeletons, and piles of bones, each kept apart, but regularly arranged."
t Diaz, contrary to other writers, declares this to have been the site of the great Temple. It is now the site
of the Convent of St. Iago Tlaltelolco.

133 . MEXICO.
step without treading on them ; the lake and canals were filled with them,
and the stench was intolerable.
" When all those who had been able, quitted the city, we went to ex-
amine it, which was as I have described ; and some poor creatures were
crawling about in different stages of the most offensive disorders, the con-
sequences of famine and improper food. There was no water ; the ground
had been torn up and the roots gnawed. The very trees were stripped
of their bark; yet, notwithstanding they usually devoured their prisoners,
no instance occurred when, amidst all the famine and starvation of this
siege, they preyed upon each other. The remnant of the population went,
'¦ , at the request of the conquered Guatimozin, to the neighboring villages,
until the town could be purified and the dead removed." Cortez affirms,
| that more than fifty thousand perished.
/ Nor was this all : there seems to have been a disposition, on the part
' of the conqueror, to obliterate the nation from the face of the earth. As
his army advanced gradually into the town in the various attacks made
upon it, the buildings were levelled to the ground ; but when the final con
flict had ended, the bigotry of the priesthood was added to the .ferocity of
the soldier, and hand in hand they went to the work of destruction. After
they had secured every article of intrinsic value, — palace and temple were
given up to ruin. The materials of which the houses of the nobles and
wealthy citizens had been built, were used to fill the canals. Every idol
was broken that could be destroyed, while those that were too large to be
mutilated by the hand or by gunpowder, were buried in the lake or the
squares ; and finally, every historical record, paper, and painting, that
could be found, was torn and burned, with a fanaticism as ignorant and
.stupid as it was zealous and bigoted.
^ From that time, of course, but little has descended to us, except a few
fragments of manuscripts, which are now preserved in the royal collec
tions of Berlin, Dresden, Vienna and the Vatican ; the idols and images
with which the Museum is filled ; and the magnificent ruins of Palenque,
Uxmal, and Guatamala.
It is impossible for us not to sympathize with the conquered in the
fall and subjection of their Empire, notwithstanding the cruelty of their
worship. Cortez was, at best, but a great pirate, around whom a troop of
needy adventurers and brave soldiers had gathered, with all the appe
tite for conquest and the temper of freebooters. It is undeniable, that
he was a man of extraordinary capacity. Brave, sagacious, cool, endu
ring, intrepid ; a statesman, orator, historian, soldier, poet ; he united in
himself every manly attribute and accomplishment, and he added to them
an indomitable resolution, which quailed as little before the magnitude
or danger of an enterprise, as before the multitudes who were sent to
encounter him. He was worthy of a better cause, and the founding of a
greater empire.
As for Montezuma, he seemed to have had a fatal presentiment of his
country's destiny, from the period of his first interview with Cortez ; and

THE CONQUEST. I39
his luxurious habits of life, operating, most probably, upon a temperament
naturally unresisting and indolent, induced him to allow a foothold to the
Spaniards, who might have been crushed by his armies at a single blow.
Instead of striking that blow, he indulged in recollecting the legends of
his forefathers ; and scarcely had his future conqueror entered the Capital,
when he hinted the fate to which his country was at last subjected. " It
is long since we knew from our ancestors," said he, " that neither I nor
all who inhabit their lands were originally of them, but that we are stran
gers, and came hither from distant places. It was said that a great lord
brought our race to these parts and returned to the land of his birth, and
yet, came back once more to us. But, in the mean time, those whom he
first brought had intermarried with the women of the country ; and when
he desired them to return again to the land of their fathers they refused
to go. He went alone ; and ever since have we believed, that from among
those who were the descendants of that mighty lord, one shall come i!o
subdue this land, and make us his vassals! According to what you de
clare of the place whence you come, (which is toward ihe rising sun,) and
of the great lord who is your King, we must surely believe that he is our
natural lord."
Cortez was by no means disposed to deny it !

LETTER XXI.
MURDER OF THE SWISS CONSUL AT ST. COSME. TACUBA. FESTIVAL OF THE
VIRGIN OF REMEDIOS.

Let us return in this letter from the Past to the Present.
The 28th of August was the festival of the Virgin of Remedios, and,
accompanied by some friends, I went to an Indian village of that name
about nine miles from the city, upon the first rise of the western mountains
from the plain of the valley. In passing through the suburb of St. Cosing,
(where many of the pleasantest residences in Mexico are situated, sur
rounded by tasteful gardens and fountains supplied by the adjacent aque
duct,) the house of M. Mairet, the Swiss Consul, was pointed out to us.
This gentleman was a person of fortune, and lived at St. Cosme' in a
tasteful little bachelor establishment, where, according to the custom of
this bankless country, he usually kept his money. Most of the dwellings
in this quarter are strongly built, and the windows are generally pro
tected by iron bars, so that it would be difficult for robbers to effect an
entrance, especially as the occupants usually keep a couple of strong and
fierce dogs in the patio and on the azotea.
One day, however, a coach drove to the front gate about noon, and a
man, dressed in the habit of a priest with broad shovel-hat, descended
from it accompanied by two others, and stated to the servant who admit
ted them, that they were exceedingly anxious to procure from Mr. Mairet
a skin of parchment; in which article, I believe, he chiefly dealt. As
-soon as they were admitted within the gate, they locked it, seized the ser
vant, tied him to a pillar, and gagged him. They then proceeded to the
house, where they found Mairet alone. They attacked him with knives,
cut and wounded him severely, and forced him to disclose the place where
he concealed his money. Having got possession of it, and rifled the house
of everything valuable, they fled. Poor Mairet died of his wounds; and
the robbers (but one of whom was discovered, tried and executed,) escaped
with ten thousand dollars.
This is one instance only of the crimes that are even yet often com
mitted throughout the Republic.
In the year 1824, during the high times of old-fashioned bigotry in
Mexico, a murder of the most appalling character occurred.

MURDER OF AN AMERICAN. i4J
An American named Hayden resided there, and followed the trade of a
shoemaker. He was a Protestant, but carefully observed all proper and
decorous respect for the Catholic ceremonies and institutions of the coun
try. One day, the Host was passing his house to the dwelling of some
dying person, with all the usual pomp and parade of ringing bells and
chanting boys ; and, as the shops are generally open to the street, Hay
den quietly arose from his work-bench, and coming forward, knelt on the
sill of his door. He had scarcely prostrated himself, when a person (who
is believed to have been an officer,) accosted him, demanding in a rude
tone " why he did not advance into the street and kneel V Hayden re
plied, that he thought it proper for him to kneel where he was. Scarcely
had he uttered this when the soldier laid his hand on the hilt of his sword
as if to draw. Hayden perceived this, and stepped toward his counter to
seize a boot-tree for defence ; but before he could reach it, the soldier had
plunged his sword through the poor man's back, directly into the heart,
and he fell dead on the spot.
An American, who was in the shop at the time, rushed to arrest the
murderer and give the alarm, but the villain had fled — the crowd closed
round him, no one pursued, and no one took means to recognize him !
Nor was this all. Difficulty was first experienced in obtaining per
mission from the authorities to bury our unfortunate countryman ; next,
no coachman would take the body in his carriage, and the Consul was
obliged to receive it in his private coach ; next, the funeral procession
was pursued by a crowd, which, gathering in formidable numbers as the
train moved along the streets of Plateros and San Francisco, pelted it with
stones and other missiles, until Mr. Black (who is now our Consul in
Mexico,) was obliged to halt the procession at the Accordada, and ask a
guard of soldiers from the commanding officer as an escort to the grave
at Chapultepec. The guard was given, ordered to load with ball-car
tridges, and as they departed the officer exclaimed — " Blessed is the land
where there are no friars !"
Notwithstanding the presence of the guard, the Consul was struck on
the breast by a stone while reading the solemn service at the grave.
Crowds had followed the funeral from the city, even to the distant
graveyard ; and when they returned, it was rumored among the leperos
that the " American had been buried with a quantity of clothing, bottles
of wine, and money to pay the expences of his journey." This super
stitious tale had the due effect ; and although a man had been hired to
watch the grave, yet soon after the interment it was broken open, and the
body was found stripped of its clothes and flung naked on the ground.
A reward of $2000 was offered by the foreigners, but no traces of the
murderer or of the human hyenas were ever discovered.

142

MEXICO.

FESTIVAL OF THE VIRGIN OF REMEDIOS.
I was particularly tempted to witness the celebration of this festival,
because it was strictly an Indian one, in which many of the old super
stitions of the tribes were mingled with the Catholic rites.
The morning was beautiful, and, although there had been much rain
the preceding night, the roads were dry and hard, and the whole face of
nature looked sweet and clean. The road swarmed with people. The
majority of these was of course composed of females, scarcely one of
whom (from thirteen upward,) was without a baby strapped to her back ;
and all jogged along in that little trot which is peculiar to the movement
of the Indians.

INDIAN WOMEN AND INFANTS.

VIRGIN OF REMEDIOS.

143

Besides these, there were files of ameros ; crowds of Indians, with
charcoal in huge panniers on their backs; others with turkies; asses
laden with hay — the hay covering the whole of the little animal so com
pletely, that at a short distance he looked like a self-moving stack. Then,
again, there was a better class of the natives, who had contrived to hire a
couple of planks covered with a mat-awning, swung upon wheels, in the
shafts of which they drove a lean and half-starved mule, — while among
the crowd dashed our postillion, with his antediluvian vehicle. We
were, in fact, the only foreigners on the road, except a band of valiant
French hair-dressers, who, taking advantage of the holiday, had sallied
forth with brightly shining guns and bloodless bags, to do execution on an
army of snipes that lay behind its intrenchments of marsh and grass.
The feast, I have said, is purely Indian in its celebration at this shrine.
You will remember when the Spaniards were expelled from the city — on
that dreadful evening, which has since passed into history by the name of
the " noche triste," or " sad night" — that they retreated through the vil
lage of Tacuba, then an Indian town of some importance, and encamped
on the adjacent heights. Some of the forces strayed still farther west
ward, and, quitting the shores of the lake, slept on the first rise of the
mountains. There they passed a panic-struck night, and in the morning,
a small doll, which had dropped from the knapsack of a Spanish soldier,
(the bruised relic, doubtless, of some pet baby he had left at home,) was
found on a maguey, or aloe. Lo ! it was proclaimed, by the finder, to be
a miraculous image of the Holy Virgin — a token of approaching success
and safety — and the doll was thenceforward sanctified ! When the Span
ish power became firmly fixed in Mexico, a church was built on the spot
of the miraculous visit, and the shrine was endowed with the votive offer
ings of the wealthy and superstitious .
Having appeared to the soldiers just at the critical moment, she was
called the Virgin of " Remedios," or Remedies — and from that day to
this, she has been regarded as the special patroness of the ill, the un
happy, the sorrowful, and unlucky. If the " rainy season" does not come
soon enough for the hopes of the Indian farmer, so that he can raise his
corn wxAfrijoles, she is prayed to. If it lasts too long, she is besought.
If the small-pox, cholera, or fevers rage, she is the pious medicine ;
and ever with success, because her image is generally brought to the in
fected district, from her healthy mountain country-seat, when the mal
ady is abating. It is said, however, that there was a mistake about her in
the case of the last small-pox that prevailed in the Capital. She was
produced too soon ! The convalescent came to return thanks ; those
who had it in its incipient state, to be relieved ; and the healthful, to be
spared entirely — the result was, a frightful spreading of the infection
among the multitudes who prostrated themselves before the image.
The church has, of course, made a fine revenue out of this miraculous
power of the Virgin ; and I have been told that she was frequently rented
out to the different parishes, at the rate of five or seven thousand dollars per

144 MEXICO.
diem, according to the emergency of the matter, and the faculty of the in-
nabitants to pay. Disease being the most selfish of all demands upon a
man's purse, he will more readily rid himself of its attacks by a fee and
a prayer, than by a doctor and a nauseous dose. A piece of painted
wood and an opportune ejaculation, are much more palatable than the
nostrum and long face of even the kindest physician.
After passing through the village of Tacuba, (now only remarkable
for a few Indian remains, among which are part of a Mexican pyramid, in
the rear of a fine church erected by Cortez, and a noble cypress, doubt
less of the days of Montezuma,) we ascended the hill among the increas
ing crowd of people on foot, in carts, on mules and horses. The church
is surrounded by a few miserable huts of adobe, which scarcely merit the
name of a village ; and as we approached the edifice we were forced to
leave our carriage, on account of the dense crowd of leperos and Indians.
I am confident, that not less than seven thousand were then upon the spot.
There was but a narrow path to the church-gate, and on each side
of it were stalls, tables, and mats of the humbler classes, covered with
fruits, dried meats, and pulque — the latter of whi«h, from the glibness of
the tongue and the incessant hum of voices around, must have been pretty
freely circulated. Gamblers, too, were not wanting : there was one fel
low with his dice, and a dozen with monte", — balls rolling ; cards shuffling ;
venders crying their merchandise ; Indians chattering in the Mexican
and Ottony dialects ; the yell of a thousand squalling babies — and the
bells tolling ! All combined to make a perfect Babel of noise, yet I am
in considerable doubt whether my ears suffered more than my olfactories !
I shouldered my way through the crowd, and entered the large court
yard in front of the church, which has once been a tasteful edifice, sur
rounded by a corridor, with a roof supported by stout columns, inclosing a
beautiful garden. All is now in ruins, and the pillars of half the corridor
lie in heaps in the corners, filled with filth and rubbish, with gigantic
aloes growing in their crannies.
From the steeple of the church to the top of the gateway, five ropes
were stretched, and a large flower made of silk, in the shape of a pome
granate, was ascending and descending on each of them, drawn up and let
down by men stationed on the azotea of the edifice. Among these flow
ers was an image of Juan Diego, the virtuous Indian to whom the Virgin
presented the miraculous picture, which is now in the Sanctuary of
Guadalupe. Juan, I imagine, was a sort of invited guest from one Virgin
to the other, and seemed to enjoy himself vastly as he was jerked up and
down on the rope by the Indians, who varied their task by an occasional
pull at the bells.
When we entered the church mass had not yet begun, and the edifice
was comparatively empty. Indeed, I did not find it (except once during
the day) very crowded with Indians, who seemed better satisfied with
their goat-meat and pulque in the fresh air out of doors.

VIRGIN OF REMEDIOS. I45
The altar and the rail around it were, as usual, made of the precious
metals, and aloft was placed an image of the Virgin, in a rich tabernacle.
Candles were lighted around it, and some persons were chanting a service
accompanied by the organ, while the Indians, in their rags, spread them
selves in kneeling groups over the floor. We passed into the sacristy,
where we met two Augustine monks, who were engaged in baptizing or
blessing a dirty Indian baby. The mother — in her torn tilma and petti
coat reaching to her knees — knelt before the padre holding the child, who
amused itself by playing with his reverence's robe while the requisite
prayer was recited. The father — in his leather breeches and torn
blanket — meanwhile leaned against the wall, twirling his tattered hat,
with open mouth, and eyes in a stupid stare of pious wonderment. As
soon as the monk had concluded the service, he stepped forward, handed
him a couple of cents, and both parents, with a sort of adoring kiss be
stowed on the friar's hand, departed. Our party comprised the only
whites in that crowd of thousands.
As soon as the padrecitos had got through their ceremonies over two or
three more babies, and received their copper fees, Mr. Black mentioned
to them our desire to see the figure of the Virgin. A sacristan was imme
diately sent to conduct us to the room back of the altar, where, mounting
to the tabernacle, and peeping cautiously around the shrine, so as not to
be seen by the congregation in the body of the church, we caught a
glimpse of the figure. It is a beautiful waxen-faced doll, about a foot
high, in a stiff satin dress, sticking out very much at the bottom as if with
hoops, and the whole figure rests on an aloe of solid silver. I observed
some pearls on the dress which had a very waxen look, together with
some diamonds, that seemed quite as brilliant as if they had been manu
factured in Paris by the dozen. When I descended, I expressed my sur
prise to the half-breed attending us, who (with a very significant smile,
and that indescribable motion of the long forefinger slowly from right
to left, peculiar to the Mexicans, and which is as much as to say, " You
know nothing about it,") explained the mystery. The real image was
not there ! Diamonds, doll, pearls, petticoats, emeralds, and all the other
finery had been taken to the Cathedral ; and he intimated, that in these
revolutionary times so much wealth was more secure within hail of the
palace sentinels, than amid the lonely wastes of this mountain church.
Besides which, he hinted that the present figure was handsomer, newer,
and, on the whole, good enough for the Indians ; who adored it with quite
as much fervor, and quite as successfully as the famed original.
We sallied forth from the chapel as the mass commenced. Gradually
the church began to fill with the half-naked Indian crowd. Deputations
of natives from the different villages next arrived, bearing their offerings
of flowers and wax candles to the Virgin, headed by a band of Indian
musicians with their tom-tom drum and flageolets, making a low monot
onous music. The offerings were taken to the altar, under banners
made of flowers ; and after a wild dance of the Indians to their music
10

146 MEXICO.
before the image, they were deposited in the sacristy. A constant sue-
cession of these oblations poured in until near two o'clock ; when the
morning services being finished, the image was taken from the tabernacle
and placed under a canopy, while a priest bore the consecrated wafer, and
the procession began its march. All heads were at once uncovered, and
I went to the upper story of the church to have a better view of the cere
mony. At the door of the church stood a ragged Indian, with a large
firework on his head, made in the shape of a horse, surrounded with
squibs and rockets ; behind him were five men and a woman from one
of the villages, neatly dressed, their heads being covered with red
silk or cotton handkerchiefs. The men bore thin staves in their hands,
and small coops, made of cane, were strapped on their backs. The
woman held a covered basket before her, and one of the men thrummed
a guitar, giving forth the same monotonous tune of the flageolets and
drum. As soon as the procession reached the portal, the whole crowd
knelt, and a number of small rockets and cannons were fired by the In
dians. The huge flowers — which I have before described as ascending
and descending on ropes from the church tower to the gate-r-were pulled
open by a secret spring, and a shower of rose leaves fell from them over
the passing priests and images. Juan Diego's knees were bent by some
equally secret machinery, and he continued on his slack-rope pilgrimage
through the air. The flageolet and the drum were once more put into
requisition, and the Indian with the horse-firework, accompanied by six
others, began retreating in a trotting dance as the holy image approached
— whirling and hopping to the barbarous music, ever careful to keep
their faces to the Virgin. Suddenly, an Indian stole behind the one
who bore aloft the firework, and touched its match. At this moment
the bells began to chime, — and thus, amid their clang, the detonation
of the squibs, cannons and rockets, and the loud cracking of the ex
ploding horse, the procession sallied from the court-yard to the village,
to make a tour of the plaza among the gamblers, pulque shops, and fruit-
sellers ; all of whom suspended their operations for the moment, and knelt
to the sacred figure.
After the return of the Virgin to the church, there was another grand
explosion of fireworks on a wheel, and more cannons were discharged,
The multitude then gathered together in groups, and made their frugal
meal of fruits, dulce, tortillias, and the never-failing frijoles and chili.
By four o'clock, the majority of the Indians had trotted off once more
to their villages, some of which were at a distance of not less than twenty
or thirty miles.
The whole of the ceremony of this day, seemed to me nothing more
than an Indian " corn-dance ;" and it is, no doubt, among the simple-
minded Indians, a festival of thankfulness to God for the crops with which
the bountiful seasons have blessed them ; in other words, a substitute for
the sacrifices which they once made of fruits, flowers, and birds, to their
goddess Centeotl.

VIRGIN OF REMEDIOS. 147
The fault is in the permission of these idolatrous rites, before the mock
image of another image ; although it may perhaps be urged, that as the
Catholic is the " blending of the rituals of many nations," there is no
harm in these innocent Indians being allowed to mix up the relics of the
worship of their fathers, so long as the whole service is offered in honor
of the ever living God.
During the morning, I climbed to the top of the church tower, through
a swarm of Indians, who were hived in a set of mud-floored rooms around
the inner court, and the upper portion of the sacred edifice, which they
were allowed to occupy as a sort of public caravanserai during the
period of their pilgrimage. Such masses of dirt, filth, and personal
impurity, it is difficult even to imagine ; and I am happy to say, that
with the exception of the festival at Guadalupe, it was the only exhibi-
tion of the sort that I saw of the Indians while in Mexico.
But I was repaid for my disgust on reaching the top of the church
tower. The view was magnificent, as is, indeed, almost every prospect
from the heights in this valley. The church stands alone, on the bleak
unsheltered side of a mountain. Behind it the steeps rise rapidly, with
deep glens descending from them, watered by many streams, and span
ned, in wild and solitary grandeur, by a lofty aqueduct of fifty arches.
But to the east lay the lovely valley — its plain — its silvery lakes — and
lurreted city nestling on its borders ; while, far in the distance, more than
forty miles away, rose the gray volcanoes, capped with their eternal snows
and clouds.
I cannot conclude an account of this Indian scene, without offering my
testimony in favor of the temper and temperance of the natives. In all
the scenes of that day, spent among so many thousand Indians, I saw but
three or four at all intoxicated. There was neither fighting, nor quar
relling ; but all seem to have met together for the purpose of an annual
frolic, and all carried it out in that pleasant spirit. The most tipsy
man in the crowd was the Corregidor — an old, lazy, leather-breeched
savage, \yho trotted among the multitude all day long, lecturing the In
dians on sobriety and good behavior. It was his misfortune, however,
that the duties of his station carried him more frequently to the pulque
shops than elsewhere ; nor was he allowed to quit them without a parting
glass, to which he was pressed by the numerous friends with whom all
great men are afflicted. I left him hiccuping a lesson, and winking his
eyes very slowly at an old Indian ; who, having been his predecessor in
office, had fallen into disgrace from the potency of pulque. It was the
fatal misfortune of all the Corregidors !
I told you, in the previous part of these letters, that the true Virgin had
been removed to the Cathedral in Mexico ; and that she stands in that
temple on her shrine of silver, enjoying the title to three petticoats em
broidered with pearls, diamonds and emeralds.
If she possesses the power to cure the maladies of others, she has not,
alas ! the skill to heal her own. She is in a most dilapidated condition !
10*

148 MEXICO.
Her whole height is not more than a foot, but you cannot number the
scratches, knocks, and bruises, that her poor little frame has suffered !
Her color is gone — both her eyes, I believe, are out — her nose is knocked
off, and there is rather a large hole in one corner of her mouth. The
padres declare, that all. who attempt to repair her charms sicken and die.
Indeed, in the midst of all her finery and ornaments, she reminds one
of some shrew of a spinster, who, after wasting her stock of charms on a
thoughtless world, makes up for them on every public occasion, by a dis
play of lace and diamonds, hiding, if possible, each wrinkle by a gem.

LETTER XXII.
CARNIVAL. LENT. HOLY WEEK.
One of the gayest seasons in Mexico is that of the Carnival ; and
although the amusements are not so numerous or splendid as those of
Rome and Naples, yet there is more stirring life and more public exhi
bition of joy and pleasure than at other periods of the year, among this
staid and reserved population.
The theatres are converted into ball-rooms, and decorated with great
taste ; masters of ceremonies are regularly appointed ; and the boxes are
filled every night with the beau-monde — brilliant with diamonds — while
the pit and stage are covered with groups of motley maskers. Within
the few last years, the fashionables have refrained from participating in
the ruses of masquerade ; and the floor has thus been abandoned chiefly
to the French hair-dressers, pastry cooks, and milliners of the calle Pla
teros, who frisk about with as much gayety as if they were at the grand
Opera of their beloved Paris. I went once or twice to witness these
amusements ; but confess that I had quite enough of them, when, on ven
turing once to stand up in a quadrille with some unknown fair one, I
found an unmasked negro (the leader of one of the orchestras in the city,)
take the place of my vis-a-vis with a white woman ! I plead guilty to a
prejudice against such exhibitions.
The Carnival over — Lent is observed with considerable rigor until
Holy Week. As the ceremonies of that season are not without their
peculiarities, I will give you some descriptions of them ; and I know not
how I can do so better than by extracts from my journal of the period.

JOURNAL.

18th March, Friday. This is the festival of the Virgin of Dolores.
It is impossible to trace many of the old customs of the Church, in a
country where the ritual is often made up of so many odd and fantastic
notions, except by supposing that the idea of the original founders was, to
attract the Indians by as many new devices as they could ingraft upon
their regular services.

150 MEXICO.
On the festival of Mary, the mother of our Saviour, (who is worshipped
here under so many metamorphoses,) the ceremonies are not alone con
ducted in the churches. There is scarcely a house in the city, where
a little shrine is not erected, and adorned with a profusion of glittering
ornaments and blooming flowers. Glasses and vases of colored waters
flash amid innumerable lamps and wax candles ; while the most splendid
jewels of the mistress of the mansion adorn the sacred image. The
floors of the dwellings are strewn with roses, leaving a path for visitors,
and music and refreshments welcome all who are in habits of intimacy
with the family. In this gorgeous display, there is considerable rivalry,
and it is a feather in a family's cap to have its Virgin spoken of as— par
excellence — the saint of the season.

IQtJi — Saturday. This is another festival — that of "El Castisimo
Patriarca Sr. S. Jose", patron principal de la Republica y N. Senora de
la Piedad." It is a festival, in other words, of San Jose" and of the
Virgin Mary, under another name. There were solemn services in the
churches. 20th — Palm Sunday. At eleven I went to the Cathedral, to hear
high mass. The chief altar was shrouded with purple drapery, and
all the ornaments were covered. The Archbishop sat under a velvet
canopy fringed with gold, and the edifice was filled with a motley, palm-
bearing congregation of ladies, leperos, cavaliers, and Indians. The ser
vice was odd. Two clergymen mounted pulpits on each side of the
altar, while another took his stand in the middle of the steps leading to it.
All had books before them, and palm branches in their hands, as had,
also, the Archbishop and his suite of servitors. The priests in the pulpit,
and the one on the steps, then proceeded to chant a sort of dramatic scene
in badly pronounced Latin ; and the whole ended with wretched music
from the choir and the organ.
While this service was going on, there seemed to be great indifference
in the demeanor of the well-dressed men. The ladies sat on the dirty
floor, and with their books open before them, read away for very life;
ever and anon crossing their foreheads, mouths and bosoms ; while the
whole of the lower classes stood by like the audience at some strange
drama in an unknown language, which they thought as queer as it was
unintelligible. The Indians, especially, who were grouped around the
base of the columns, in all their usual dirt and rags, appeared particularly
surprised at the Latin. Among the multitude, I could not help noticing
an old, vicious-looking lepero, (a scarred veteran in crime and villainy,
if we may judge by his countenance) who was extraordinarily zealous
in pounding his breast, as if exorcising an evil and tormenting spirit.

HOLY THURSDAY. 151
After the ceremony was over, no one omitted going to the. basins and
sprinkling with holy water. The Indians, as usual, enjoyed this privi
lege greedily ; and after devoutly crossing themselves, spirted a quantity
of the fluid in their eyes, and last of all, put a handfull over their hair
and faces. The infants, especially, came in for a wholesome ablution.
23rd. I went to the Cathedral this afternoon to hear the Miserire. It
was a different affair from that of the Sistine Chapel, where the agonizing
music is wailed out by the Pope's eunuchs. I only remained until four or
five candles had been extinguished on the great candlestick of ebony,
inlaid with silver. The music was execrable.
2Uh. This day, which is elsewhere perhaps the saddest and holiest
to the spiritual-minded of Christ's Church — preparing the soul for the
dreadful trials of to-morrow — is in Mexico one of the gayest of the season.
From 10 o'clock in the morning, not a horse or vehicle of any sort is
permitted to appear on the street, and all who venture abroad must do so
on foot. In the olden time, this was no doubt intended to mark the day
with peculiar solemnity ; both by dispensing with one of the most needful
luxuries of the upper classes, and detaining the gay and fashionable at
home, or inducing them to go on humble and prayerful pilgrimage to the
ohurches. It is now, however, but an excuse for ostentation ; and as at all
other seasons of the year fashion has made it imperative for no lady to
walk the streets, so has fashion made it the rule for the sex to appear on this
day, apparelled in all the splendor their purses will admit. Silks, satins,
velvets, embroidery, lace, jewels, diamonds, ball-dresses, dinner-dresses
— every species of vesture to attract attention and envy, and these again
are changed several times in the course of the day ! For weeks previous
the mantuamakers are all bought up — not a stitch is to be had for love
or money — and, on Holy Thursday, the cunning of their needles is dis
played for once in the year to the rude and open air.
The professed purpose of this display is to visit, on foot, seven of the
churches — which are adorned with all their plate, jewels, flowers, and
finery, for the occasion, while their floors are spread with the richest
carpets. Although there is much that is singular to Protestants who are accus
tomed to a simple ritual, in the splendor of the Roman Church in Italy
and France, yet there is always a picturesque fitness of the ceremony
to the season, and there is an evident meaning in its dramatic effect, illus
trating the incidents of the time. In those countries, we can never free
ourselves from the associations of the place and the ceremony upon which
there are no corrupt grafts of heathenism. The rites at the altar are
gorgeous, but chaste and beautiful ; the music is select, and suitable to
the moment ; the temple in which you kneel, is hallowed by historical
memorials ; the dead of hundreds of years — illustrious through all time —

152 MEXICO.
rest in the carved tombs around you ; and the master-pieces of the great
est artists realize once more, on their eloquent canvas, the triumphs of
saints and martyrs. But not so here. The ritual is Indian, rather than
civilized or intellectual. The show is tasteless and barbaric. The altars
display a jumble of jewelry, sacred vessels, and utensils of the pre
cious metals mixed up with glass through which is reflected the tints of
colored water, and the whole is overlaid with fruits and flowers. It is a
mixture of the church and apothecary shop. Instead of the glorious pic
tures of the old masters, you have innumerable bad figures, badly drawn
and worse colored, set in frames, the gilding and carving of which form
the greatest attraction ; and in place of the airs of Mozart and Haydn,
you have the music of the last Opera, and the favorite morceaux of Rob
ert le Diable.

When the carriages cease to roll to-day, at ten o'clock, the bells are
also silenced. Not a clapper is allowed to strike against bell-side until
next Saturday. Yet, in order not to be without incessant noise in the
streets, they have substituted rattles, and you scarcely meet a youth who
has not one of these discordant instruments in his hand. The rattles are
usually made of wood and bone, surmounted by the wax-figure of a bird,
baby, or even, sometimes, a naked Venus ; but for the higher classes they
are of richly chased silver with tasteful ornaments, and become the fash
ionable presents of the season. This, too, is a relic of barbarism, and I
am told is derived from the Indians, who, in the olden time, used rattles
to exorcise the Evil Spirit.
The streets are alive with the gay throng, and I visited the churches
of San Francisco, La Seiiora de Loreto, the Cathedral, Santa Clara,
and the Profesa. San Francisco and La Prqfesa divide the fashionable
world ; but the old Jesuits seem to have carried the day with the ladies.
I took a seat on the benches, placed against the pillars which support
the roof of the church, as I found it to be the custom for men to sit, while
the aisle of the church is occupied by the kneeling females. When I en
tered the edifice there were but few at their devotions, but the crowd
gradually increased, and in half an hour the building was filled with the
gentle hum of a thousand lips in prayer.
Near me knelt a lady, whose dress must have cost thousands in this ex
pensive country. She wore a purple velvet robe embroidered with white
silk, white satin shoes, and silk stockings ; a mantilla of the richest white
blonde lace fell over her head and shoulders, and her ears, neck, and fin
gers were blazing with diamonds. By her side, and almost touching,
crouched an Indian, in rags scarcely sufficient to hide her nakedness, with
wild dishevelled hair, bare legs, and a vacant stare from the gorgeous
altar to the gorgeous dame ! And so, over the whole church, the floor
was a checker-board of ladies and Uperos — of misery and pride !

RELIGIOUS EXHIBITIONS. 153
At a little distance knelt a group of fashionable girls under the guar
dianship of their mamma, and followed by a female servant — a substitute
for the old dueha. After the sign of the cross and the bow to the altar,
the two lines of beaux on each side of the edifice, first attracted the at
tention of the penitents ; but their prayer-books were immediately opened,
the forehead, mouth, and breast were again crossed, and they hummed
a prayer, with an occasional aside to mother or sister, in the midst of
their devotion. After this mingled occupation of prayer, chatting, cross
ing, and criticism had been carried on for ten minutes, they closed their
books, sank from their knees backward on the floor, and sitting thus on
the boards, threw aside their mantillas so as to display a pet dimple or a
pet diamond. Presently, remembering that there were other churches to
visit, they rose slowly, and lounged off to another chapel to bring up the
arrears of their aves and paters.
I have thus sketched both the street-walking and church-praying of
to-day, but there was one church which I must mention specially. The
Chapel of " Nuesira Sehora de Loreto" is situated some distance from the
centre of fashion in Mexico, and is considered quite a pilgrimage by the
pedestrians who walk but once a year. I visited it, both in the morning
and at night. In the early part of the day, the crowd was small ; but
after sunset it was almost impossible to effect an entrance, notwithstand
ing the doors and square in front were guarded by sentinels with fixed
bayonets. The church was transformed into a grove of orange, lemon, and flower
ing shrubbery ; and the blaze of a multitude of wax torches was reflected
from the altar, around which the twelve Apostles were seated at the
Last Supper, amid a pile of silver and gold plate and jewels, arranged in
a multitude of odd devices, not only on the table but from the floor to the
ceiling. In grotesque contrast with all this splendor, there were common
oranges sprinkled with tin foil, and twopenny glass decanters filled with
dyed waters.
As I entered from the front door of this edifice, the first thing that
attracted my notice was a side altar converted into an arbor, in the centre
of which was a well, with Christ and the woman of Samaria beside it.
The lady had been fitted out by a most fashionable mantuamaker, in a
costume of blue satin picked out with pink, and while she leaned grace
fully on a silver pitcher, resting on the edge of the well, our Saviour
stood opposite in a mantle of purple velvet, embroidered with gold, and
eovered with a Guyaquil sombrero !
A short distance from this, in the place of another side altar, next to
the chief one, was the representation of the entombment of our Lord.
The body, swathed in linen, was laid in a glass coffin. " Mary the Mo
ther," dressed in a full suit of black velvet, with a fine cambric hand
kerchief in hand, stood among the shrubbery at its foot. In the foreground.,
two little urchins of waxen angelhood, also dressed in black velvet,
(with black wings and skirts looped up in front, so as to display their

154 MEXICO.
neatly-turned ankles in richly- worked stockings, and somewhat more of
he leg than befits other persons than opera dancers,) put themselves in
such an attitude, that you might naturally imagine they were in the act
of pirouetting off to the music of a piano in the opposite corner, that gave
forth the most fashionable waltzes and airs from the operas. Two dogs,
(emblems, I suppose of " watchfulness,") but who did not seem to under
stand their duty very well, amused themselves, meanwhile, by wandering
about among the pots and smelling at the flowers !

Returning from Nuestra Sefiora de Loreto, I found the streets crammed
with people, among whom were- crowds of ladies dressed quite as splen
didly as in the morning ; many of them still wore their diamonds, not
withstanding the imminent danger of robbery in such a concourse. The
stores were all closed, the bells were silenced, and all was quiet but the
hum of the crowd and the crack of the thousand rattles that filled the
air like a meadow of grasshoppers.
I went to the Profesa and found a similar display. I continued on to
San Francisco, and there beheld the most tasteful and least childish of all
these exhibitions. The walls of the church were hung with large pic
tures, portraying parts of the life of Christ ; and over the altar was a large
architectural design, the outlines of which were marked with lights fast
ened on the canvas, so that the whole picture seemed drawn with fire.
The effect was novel and beautiful, and the better for a misty atmosphere
in the church arising from the multitude of candles.
In another of the seven chapels of San Francisco, a figure of our
Lord, as large as life, was seated at the foot of the altar, crowned with
thorns and bleeding at every pore ; while, at a side altar, was the Virgin,
(again in becoming black velvet,) with a large straight sword thrust
through her heart, and her eyes upturned like a dying Cleopatra. The
crowd here was immense, and it was necessary to preserve order by sta
tioning guards at all the doors.
As I passed down the street, I observed that numbers of booths had
been erected at the principal corners and in the plaza. They are neatly
made of reeds and matting, and their counters are woven over in front
with sweet clover interlaced with flowers. Orgeat and other refreshing
drinks only are sold in them, and in the whole throng of this day of idle
ness I have not met a drunken Indian or lepero.
The Cathedral was also lighted up like the rest of the churches, and
there was a similar display of ornaments. In the middle of the left aisle
a silver altar had been erected, since yesterday, which reached nearly to
the ceiling ; but it was tastelessly crowded with figures of saints and
wooden pillars, painted to imitate marble. On this altar was displayed
the Holy Sacrament during the period in which no consecration of the
elements is permitted by the Church.

INDULGENCES. 155
At the doors of most of these sacred buildings ladies were seated, who
received alms on large silver dishes, and rewarded you with a sweet
smile ; but in the sacristy of the Cathedral a system of begging was car
ried on that I did not notice elsewhere. It was a regular fair for Indul
gences. The body of our Lord, in wax, was laid on a bier near the door as
you entered from the Cathedral, and near it, another figure was set up,
representing him as he came bleeding and wasted from the scourgers.
Close to these two figures sat priests begging every passer for a donation
in return for indulgences. " Ten years' indulgence for an alms to the
Holy Sepulchre," said one of them, with the plate before him; — and
"twenty years' indulgence for an alms for the redemption of the faithful
in captivity," shouted a tall blue-gowned Franciscan, who stood near the
door as you went out, over-bidding his less liberal competitor between the
figures. 25th, Good Friday. The gay dresses of yesterday are exchanged for
deep black, worn by both men and women, and the day is celebrated by
solemn services. I missed seeing the " descent from the cross," in the
church of Balbanera, which is said to be performed by puppets, and to
be admirably well executed.
26th. This is the last day of the ceremonies, and at half-past nine
in the morning the injunction was taken from the bells and carriages.
The streets were of course immediately filled with all the equipages of
the city, whose postillions only waited for the first sound from the church-
towers, to dash out of their court-yards. The clang of the bells was in
cessant, and at the same moment, the air was filled with the smoke and
explosion of myriads of crackers and fireworks, called "Judases" and
" heretics" extended on ropes across the streets. The multitudes of dogs
with which the city is infested, scared at the unusual racket, howled
along the streets, and the great amusement of the leperos was to trip the
poor beasts with ropes as they dashed wildly over the crowded thorough
fares. And so ended in smoke, yells, jingling, carriage-rolling, horse-
tramping, Judas-bursting, dog-tripping, and folly, this farcical caricature
of the most awful event in the history of religion. In the vanity of per
sonal ostentation its effect is thrown away on the better classes, and it is
entirely lost in the barbaric spectacle and tinsel show which are got up to
bewilder and surprise the ignorant and low.

LETTER XXIII.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF MEXICO. CHAPULTEPEC. TACUBAYA, AND THE
MURDER OF MR. EGERTON. ST. ANGEL. THE DESIERTO.
1 have intimated to you several times in these letters, that it is exceed
ingly dangerous to go out of the gates of the city of Mexico alone or
unarmed. Indeed, a foreigner scarcely ever takes a ride as far as Tacu
baya, without his pistols in his holsters, and a trusty servant behind him.
Skirting one of the aqueducts which terminates in the southern part of
the city, you pass westward over the plain to Chapultepec — the "Hill
of the Grasshopper." It is an insulated porphyritic rock, rising near the
former margin of the lake, and is said to have been one of the spots
designated by the Aztecs, as a place where they tarried on their emigra
tion from the north in search of a final resting-place, which was to be
denoted by " an eagle sitting on a rock and devouring a serpent."
At the foot of this solitary hill the plain spreads out on every side, in all
the beauty of extreme cultivation, while a belt of noble cypresses girdles
its immediate base. One of these trees still bears the name of " Mon
tezuma's cypress,"* and there is no doubt, from the remains of the gar
dens, groves, tanks and grottoes still visible about this beautiful spot,
that it was one of the favorite resorts of the monarch and court of
the Mexican Empire. The tradition is that the Emperor retired from the
sultry city to these pleasant shades, which were filled, in his day, with
every luxury that wealth could procure or art devise. It would have
been difficult to select a spot better adapted for a royal residence. From
the top of the modern Palace (now a military school) erected by the
Viceroy Galvez, there is a charming prospect over the valley and lakes.
T ou sweep your eye around a border of gigantic mountains, while at the
bottom of the hill cluster the dense groves of cypress — the genuine an
tiquities of Mexico — old, perhaps already at the period of the conquest,
Nor is it the least agreeable association with these venerable relics, that
they are unconnected with any of the bloody rites of religion, but are
.eloquent witnesses of the better portions of Mexican character.
* It measures 41 feet in circumference, and 51, over some excrescences.

REVOLTINGMURDER. I57
By a road leading south- westwardly from Chapultepec, at the distance
of about a mile, you reach Tacubaya, a town somewhat celebrated in the
history of Spanish diplomacy. It is a quiet country village, containing
many delightful residences of the Mexican merchants, and is chiefly re
markable for a palace of the Archbishop surrounded by beautiful gardens
and groves, from the azotea of which there is one of the finest views of
the volcano of Popocatepetl, and the neighboring mountain of Iztacci
huatl.

On the 28th of April, 1-842, the city of Mexico was thrown into com
motion by the recital of a dreadful double murder, that had been committed
on the previous night in this village.
Mr. Egerton was an English artist — a landscape painter, of great emi
nence — who had resided several years in the Republic, and had just
returned again to the country from a visit to England, bringing with him
a lovely young woman as his wife. After residing a few months in town,
he rented a small establishment at Tacubaya, to which he repaired with
his lady, and during the period that he remained there, but seldom visited
the Capital. Yet he sometimes came in to see his brother, and on the
evening of the day preceding the fatal event, he left the city on his return
home. As soon as he reached Tacubaya, he went out, accompanied by his wife,
to take their usual evening walk ; and this is the last that is known of them
with any certainty. In the course of the night, the little dog that usually
followed them in their rambles returned to the house alone.
On the morning of the 28th, some peons, who were going from the vil
lage to work in the fields, discovered Mr. Egerton's body lying on the
road. The spot was soon thronged by the villagers, and, after a thorough
search in the neighborhood, the body of his wife was found in an adjoining
field of aloes.
Those who saw the shocking sight, describe it as the most horrible they
ever beheld. Egerton had evidently been slain, after a severe struggle ;
a rattan, which he still held firmly in the grasp of death, was cut and
broken ; his body was pierced with eleven wounds, and, though he had
been dead near eight hours when discovered, his teeth were still clenched
as if in anger, his eyes wide open, and his hair stiff on end ! The poor
lady was stripped naked, with the exception of her stockings and shoes ;
one wound, as if with a small-sword, penetrated her right breast ; marks
of strangulation were around her throat ; her stomach was bitten, and
she had evidently been violated.
It is impossible to describe the horror with which all classes of Mexico
received this dreadful tale. The British Minister and Consul, and Mr.
Egerton's brother, immediately instituted the most diligent search for the
perpetrators of these crimes ; but, although several men were arrested, the
monsters remain to this day undetected.

158 MEXICO.
A small wooden cross, near a tangled thicket, adjoining a ruined church,
marks the fatal spot, and bears an inscription imploring your prayers for
the murdered pair.

In a nook at the northwest corner of the city of Mexico, as you pass
out of the gate of St. Cosme, is the English Burying-ground, bowered
among trees and flowers toward the town, and open, with a sweet lowland
prospect, toward the setting sun ; and here were deposited, side by side,
the unfortunate victims. Few spectacles have ever been more sorrowful,
than the group of " strangers in a strange land," who gathered around
the grave of their murdered friends on the melancholy evening of their
interment.

At the distance of a few feet from them, repose the remains of Wil
liam McClure, a countryman, dear to American science. The Acad-
emy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, of which he was so long the
President and benefactor, erected a small marble monument over his
grave, and surrounded it with an iron rail. A short time before I left
Mexico, the rail was torn down, the monument upset, and, on the same
night, the newly-buried body of a Scotchman was disinterred, stripped of
its clothes, and thrown over the wall of the cemetery !

ST. AUGUSTIN— ST. ANGEL— EL DESIERTO.
St. Augustin is another village of which I have already spoken ; and
St. Angel is one of nearly the same character, except that the views from
its azoteas over the valley and city, are perhaps more beautiful.
The pleasantest ride, however, about the vale or its adjoining moun
tains, is to the ruins known as " El Desierto," or the Desert ; the remains
of an abandoned Carmelite convent, built among the rocky recesses of the
western Sierra.
It is a fashionable ride of about seven leagues, and parties of gentle
men, and even ladies, make it a resort for agreeable pic-nics. The edi
fices were built between two hills, and are now going rapidly to decay,
yet there are some remains of cells which still retain their coverings,
while the main buildings are unroofed and almost choked with luxuriant
trees and flowering shrubbery.
Thomas Gage, a converted monk, who visited Mexico about the end of
the first century after the conquest, gave an account of this convent in
1677, when it was in its days of glory.

ELDESIERTO. 159
" The pleasantest place," says he, " of all that are about Mexico, is
called La Soledad, and by others El Desierto — the Solitary, or Desert
place. Were all wildernesses like it, to live in a wilderness would be
better than to live in a city ! This hath been a device of poor Fryers
named discalced, or barefooted Carmelites, who, to make show of their
apparent godliness, and that while they may be thought to live like
Eremites, retired from the world, they may draw the world unto them,
they have built there a stately cloister, which being upon a hill and
among rocks makes it more to be admired. About the cloister they have
fashioned out many holes and caves, in, under, and among the rocks, like
Eremites' lodgings, with a room to lie in, and an oratory to pray in, with
pictures and images, and rare devices for mortifications, as disciplines of
wire, rods of iron, hair cloths, girdles with sharp wire points to girdle
about their bare flesh, and many such like toys which hang about their
oratories, to make people admire their mortified and holy lives.
" All the eremitical holes and caves (which are some ten in all) are
within the bounds and compass of the cloister and among gardens and
orchards full of fruits and flowers, which may take up two miles' compass ;
and here among the rocks are many springs of water, which, with the
shade of the plantains and other trees, are most cool and pleasant to the
Eremites ; they have, also, the sweet smell of the rose and jasmine, which
is a little flower, but the sweetest of all others ; there is not any other
flower to be found that is rare and exquisite in that country which is not
in that wilderness, to delight the senses of those mortified Eremites !
" They are weekly changed from the cloister ; and when the week is
ended, others are sent, and they return unto their cloister ; they carry
with them their bottles of wine, sweetmeats, and other provision ; as for
fruits, the trees about do drop them into their mouths.
" It is wonderful to see the strange devices of fountains of water which
are about the gardens ; but much more wonderful to see the resort of
coaches, and gallants, and ladies, and citizens from Mexico thither, to
walk and make merry in those desert pleasures, and to see those hypo
crites whom they look upon as living saints, and to think nothing too
good for them to cherish them in their desert conflicts with Satan. No
one goes to them but carries some sweetmeats or other dainty dish, to
nourish and feed them withal ; whose prayers they likewise earnestly
solicit, leaving them great alms of money for their masses ; and above
all, offering to a picture in their church, called " Our Lady of Carmel,"
treasures of diamonds, pearls, golden chains, and crowns, and gowns of
cloth of gold and silver.
"Before this picture did hang, in my time, twenty lamps of silver; the
worst of them being worth a hundred pounds."
Of all these cool retreats — these quiet haunts for monkish mortification
— the abodes, at once, of humility and pride — nothing now remains but
heaps of ruins, marking the former cloisters and hermitages. But time
has been unable to destroy the magnificent prospect that bursts upon the

160 MEXICO.
traveller as he emerges from between the hills where the buildings are
nestled. You stand nearly 'a thousand feet above the valley, and, in the
pure and rarefied air of the mountains, the vision is almost unlimited
over a world-like panorama of crag, lake, city, vale, and volcano. I
have already described the view from the opposite point of the moun
tains, as you approach Mexico from the east, and I shall therefore
not detain you with what could at best but amount to an amplified cata
logue of picturesque features in the most charming landscape of the
world.

JOURNAL OF A JOURNEY

T I ERR A CALIENTE:
BEING an account of a visit to
CUERNAVACA, THE RUINS OF XOCHICALCO, THE
CAVERN OF CACAHUAWAMILPA, CUAUTLA
DA AMILPAS,
AND several
MEXICAN HACIENDAS OR PLANTATIONS.

11th September, 1842. This is still the rainy season in the Valley
of Mexico, and the clouds which have hung around the valley for some
weeks past, pouring out their daily showers, seem to forbid our depar
ture upon an expedition which I have contemplated making before I
leave Mexico ; but as the period of my departure is rapidly approaching,
I find it necessary to embrace the opportunity presented by the protection
of a party of gentlemen who design visiting, during the next two weeks,
some of the most interesting portions of Tierra Caliente, south of the Val
ley of Mexico. It strikes me, too, that as the mountains which surround
this valley are the highest in Mexico, it is more probable that the stormy
clouds, driven up by the north winds from the sea, gather and are at
tracted by these heights, and consequently expend themselves over the
nearest plains ; — the adjoining valleys which are lower than this, are
likely, therefore, to be free from the continual deluge of water with which
we have been visited for the last two months.
Our preparations have accordingly all been made to set out to-day,
about four o'clock. 11

162

MEXICO.

ST. AUGUSTIN DE LAS CUEVAS.
At three o'clock the court-yard of our houses presented the appearance
of a cavalry barrack ; — saddles, sabres, pistol-holsters, huge spurs, whips,
baggage, horses, and servants. By four o'clock we had all rendezvoused
at the dwelling of Mr. G  , in the Calle del Semenario. Our party is
composed of seven, among whom are Mr. Black the American Consul,
and Mr. Goury du Roslan, the Secretary of the French Legation; the
rest are chiefly Scotch gentlemen, engaged in commerce in Mexico.
Two mules have, been hired and laden with a good store of provard —
such as hams, corned- beef, portable soups, sausages, sardines, and wine,
and these are put under the charge of an arriero, who, with my servant,
and two other servants of our companions, make up a company of eleven,
all mustered.
Few things can be more complete for all weathers and all seasons, than
the outfit of a Mexican horseman. He has everything that can contri-
bute to the comfort or necessity of the passing hour, strapped to some part
of his horse or his usual equipments.

MEXICAN SERAFE.

MEXICAN HORSEMAN.

163

First of all, he has his broad-brimmed, steeple-crowned Sombrero, cov
ered with oilskin; next, his short leathern jacket, fancifully embossed
with plated nails, like the old buff-coats of the feudal freebooters ; then,
his leather trowsers with rows of buttons at the seam, preventing the
chafing of the saddle, and his leggings to protect his feet and ankles ; in
front of him are his armas de agua, a large skin cut in two parts, the
ends of which on one side are fastened to the saddle-bow, the other two
being tied behind him, so that his legs are entirely protected from rain ;
before them, again, are strapped his pistols, while, passing beneath his
left leg, rests his trusty toledo. From the peak, in front, hangs his lasso,
a long running-noose with which he catches his horse in the morning ;
and behind him is strapped his serape, or blanket-cloak, with a slit in the
middle, which he throws over his head when it rains or is cold, and
protects him from the weather as by a perfect thatch.

MEXICAN HORSEMAN.

Thus mounted on his high-peaked Spanish saddle, with stiff wooden stir
rups, over which are long ears of leather, — and his feet armed with the
11*

164

MEXICO.

huo-e Spanish spur, to which is attached a small ball of finely-tempered
steel, that strikes against the long rowels at every tread of the man or
beast, and rings like a fairy bell,

MEXICAN SPUR.

you have a complete picture of a Mexican horseman, equipped at every
point and ready for the road. If he has to fight, he has his weapons ; if
to feed, he has his laden mule ; if it rain, he dons his serape and armas
de agua, and rides secure from storm and wind ; and if he arrives at an
Indian hut, after a long and toilsome journey, and no bed is ready to re
ceive him, he spreads the skins on the earthen floor — his saddle is his pil
low, and his blanket a counterpane. He is the compendium of a perfect
travelling household.
In this guise were most of us equipped when we mustered in the great
square — except, that for leathern jackets, we had substituted blue cloth,
and had strapped our serapes on the pillions behind us.
All were punctual to the minute, and the arriero, together with Gomez,
and Antonio, the two other servants, were sent on to the Garrita, to pass
our carga mules. Gomez was a stanch, wooden- faced old trooper, who had
done good service in the troublous times in Mexico ; Ramon, a Spaniard,—
a thin, hatchet-visaged, boasting, slashing rogue, — who had fought through
many a guerilla party of the Peninsular war ; and Antonio, a sort of
weazened supernumerary, with a game leg, a broken nose, a toothless up
per gum, a devilish leering eye, and a pepper-and-salt cur as worthless
as his master, who amused himself during the whole of our journey by
running bulls, tearing sheep, worrying fowls, and taking twice as much
exercise as was necessary.

A TROPIC STORM. 165
A party in better spirits never set out. We had the prospect of relax
ation, the sight of something novel, and the hope of propitious skies.
As the Cathedral clock struck four we put our animals in motion — sed
vana spes ! A cloud, which had been for some time threatening, opened
its bosom. In a moment our serapes were on, the armas de agua tied
round our waists, and the storm of wind and rain was upon us. We con
soled ourselves by thinking it was only the baptism of the expedition.
At the city gate the guard of Custom-house officers wished to cnarge
an export duty on our wine, but our passes from M. de Bocanegra and
the Governor saved us, and we launched forth on the road to St. Augus
tin, with the shower increasing every minute. It is useless to say more
of this dreary evening. For three hours the rain was incessant ; and
that the rain of a tropical storm, with huge drops, and wind and lightning.
The water flowed from our blankets like spouts. The road over the
plain was no longer a highway but a water-course, rushing and gurgling
over every descent. The poor Indians returning from market paddled
along, shrouded up in their petates. There was no conversation in the
company. Every one was sulky, and felt a very strong disposition to
return home and start fair with dry skies to-morrow ; but it was decided
to push on. Finally, one of our carga mules, with all the provant,
tumbled over in the mud, and tried to kick himself clear from his load ;
the arriero, however, was directly over him with his long whip, showering
blows on head and haunches, until he again set him in motion for the
village. It was quite dark when our cold, weary, and uncomfortable party en
tered St. Augustin, and knocked at the gate of Mr. M  's country-
house, where we were to stay for the night. We hoped to find everything
duly prepared for our reception ; and among our hopes, not the least was
for a blazing fire to dry our bespattered garments. We came up to the
door, one by one, silently and surlily. We were not only angry with the
weather, but seemed to be mutually dissatisfied. After a deal of thump
ing, the door was slowly opened, and instead of the salutation of a bril
liant blaze in the midst of the court-yard — one miserable, sickly tallow
candle made its appearance ! A colder, damper, or more uncomfortable
crew never reunited after a storm ; and we found, notwithstanding the
usual protection of Mexican blankets, Mexican saddles, and armas de
agua, that the rain had penetrated most of our equipments, and that we
were decidedly damp, if not thoroughly drenched.
We entered the house after disposing of our accoutrements in a large
hall, and found quite comfortable quarters, and beds enough for all par
ties. A change of dress, a glass of capital Farintosh, (which was pro
duced from the capacious leathern bottle of Douglas,) and a cut at the
ham, with a postscript of cigars, set us all to rights again ; and at eleven
o'clock, as I write this memorandum, the party are singing the chorus of
a song to Du Roslan's leading.

166 MEXICO.
Sunday, 18th. I was asleep last night in five minutes, nor did I awake
until aroused at 5 o'clock by the loud pattering of the rain against the
shutters. Cold, gray, cheerlessly, the day broke ; and as cold and
cheerlessly did we assemble in the kitchen to take our chocolate. A
council was held as to proceeding or waiting for better weather. I ad
hered to my theory, that the rain was confined to the Valley of Mexico-
and that when we had passed 'the mountains in this day's journey, we
would find it dry and pleasant travelling in the warmer and lower coun
try. At any rate there was something consolatory in the hope. The horses
were accordingly ordered, the damp dresses packed, our serapes wrung
out, and the mules freighted for the day.
As the bells were ringing for mass, and the villagers hurrying through
the streets to church, we sallied forth, every man trying to discover the
symptom, even, of a break among the dreary brownish clouds that hung
low from the mountain-tops to the valley.
As soon as the road leaves the town of St. Augustin, it strikes directly
up the mountain, and runs over crags and ravines which in our country
would startle the delicate nerves of a lady. Railroads and McAdam
have spoiled us ; but here, where the toilsome mule and the universal
horse have converted men almost into centaurs and are the traditionary
means of communication, no one thinks of improving the highways.
But, of late years, diligences are getting into vogue between the chief
cities of the Republic ; and one, built in Troy, has been started on this
very road. How it gets along over such ruts and drains, rocks and moun
tain-passes, it is difficult to imagine !
On we went, however, over hill and dale, the misty rain still drifting
around us, and becoming finer and mistier as we rose on the mountain.
The prospect was dreary enough ; but in fine weather, these passes are
said to present a series of beautiful landscapes. In front is then beheld
the wild mountain scenery, while, to the north, the valley sinks gradually
into the plain, mellowed by distance, and traversed by the lakes of Chalco
and Tezcoco. Of the former of these we had a distinct view as the wind
drifted the mist aside for a moment, when we had nearly attained the
summit of the mountain. Here we passed a gang of laborers impressed
for the army, and going, tied in pairs, under an escort of soldiers, to
serve in the Capital. This was recruiting! Further on, we passed the
body of a man lying on the side-path. He had evidently just died, and,
perhaps, had been one of the party we had encountered. No one no
ticed him ; his hat was spread over his face, and the rain was pelting
on him.
We saw no habitations — no symptoms of cultivation ; in fact, nothing
except rocks and stunted herbage, and now and then, a muleteer, a mis
erable Indian plodding with a pannier of fruit to Mexico, or an Indian
shepherd-boy, in his long tjiatch-cloak of water-flags, perched on a crag
and watching his miserable cattle. We were now travelling among the
clouds, near 9000 feet above the level of the. sea.

COUNTRY HOTEL.

167

INDIAN WITH PANNIER.

INDIAN SHEPHERD

After about four hours' journey in this desolation, the clouds suddenly
broke to the southward, revealing the blue sky between masses of sullen
vapor, and thus we reached our breakfasting house on the top of the
mountain. Imagine a mud-hole, (not a regular lake of mud, hut a mass of that
clayey, oozey, grayish substance, which sucks your feet at every step,)
surrounded by eight huts, built of logs and reeds, stuck into the watery
earth, and thatched with palm leaves. This was the stage breakfasting
station, on the road from Mexico to Cuemavaca ! We asked for " the
house ;" and a hut, a little more open than the rest, was pointed out. It
was in two divisions, one being closed with reeds, and the other entirely
exposed, along one side of which was spread a rough board supported on
four sticks covered with a dirty cloth. It was ihe principal hotel !
There was no denying that prospects were most unpromising, but we
were too hungry to wait longer for food. We, asked for breakfast, but

168 MEXICO. «
the answer was the slow movement of the long forefinger from right to
left, and a " No hai !"
"Any eggs?"
" No hai !"
" Any tortillias ?"
"No hai."
" Any pulque ?"
" No hai."
" Any chil6 ?"
" No hai."
"Any water?"
" No hai !" '
" What have you got then ?" exclaimed we, in a chorus of desperation.
" Nada /"—nothing !
We tried to coax them, but without effect ; and, at length, we ordered a
mule to be unladen, and our own provisions to be unpacked. This pro
duced a stir in the household, as soon as it became evident that there was
to be no high bid for food.
In a moment a clapping of hands was heard in the adjoining room,
and I found a couple of women at work, one grinding corn for tortillias,
and the other patting them into shape for the griddle. There were
two or three other girls in the apartment, and, taking a seat on a log, and
offering a cigarrito to each of them, I began a chat with the prettiest,
while the tortillias were cooking. A cigarrito, a-piece, exhausted, and
with them, half-a-dozen jokes, I offered another to each of the damsels,
and found them getting into better humor. At length, one arose, and af
ter rummaging among the pots in a corner, produced a couple of eggs,
which she said . should be cooked for me. I thanked her, and by a lit
tle persuasion, induced her to add half a dozen more for the rest of the
party. By the time that the eggs were boiled and the tortillias baked, I
suggested that a dish of molU de guagelote would be delicious with them,
and felt sure that a set of such pretty lasses must know how to make it.
" Quien sabe ?" said one of them. " Was there not some left from this
morning ?" said another ; and they both arose at once and looked again
into the pots. The result was the discovery of a pan heaped with the
desired turkey and chile, and another quite as full of delicious frijoles.
These were placed for five minutes over the coals, and the consequence
was, that out of " Nada," I contrived to cater a breakfast that fed our
company, servants, and arriero, and which would have doubtless fed the
mules also, if mules ever indulged in chile. I never made a heartier
meal, relishing it greatly in spite of the dirty table-cloth, the dirty women,
the dirty village, and the fact that my respected tortillia-maker, while en
gaged in her laudable undertakings, had occasionally varied the occu
pation, by bestowing a pat on the cake, and another, with the same hand,
on the most delicate portion of the leather-breeches of a brat who annoyed
her by his cries and his antics. I shall long remember those girls, and

VALEOFCUERNAVACA. 169
the witchcraft that lies in a little good-humor, and a paper of cigarritos.
Let no one travel through a Spanish country without them.

About one o'clock, we had again mounted ; and riding along a level
road which winds through the table-land of the mountain-top, we passed
the Cruz del Marquez, a large stone cross set up not long after the
conquest, to mark the boundary of the estate presented by Montezuma
to Cortez. At this spot the road is 9,500 feet above the level of the
sea, and thence commences the descent of the southern mountain-slope
toward the Vale of Cuemavaca. The pine forest in many places is
open and arching, like a park, and covers a wide sweep of meadow
and valley. The air soon became milder, the sun warmer, the vege
tation more varied, the fields less arid — and yet all was forest scenery,
apparently untouched by the hand of man. In this respect it presents a
marked difference from the mountains around the Valley of Mexico, where
the denser population has destroyed the timber and cultivated the land.
This road is remarkable for being infested with robbers, but we fortu
nately met none. We were probably too strong for the ordinary gangs —
some fifty shots from a company of foreigners, with double-barrel guns
and revolving pistols, being dangerous welcome. At the village where
we breakfasted, there was an ugly-looking band of scoundrels, who hung
around our party the whole time we remained there, watching our mo
tions and examining our arms. I cannot conceive a set of figures better
suited to the landscape that village presented, than these same human
fungi, who had sprung up amid the surrounding physical desolation, and
flourished in moral rottenness. Every man looked the rascal, with a
beard of a month's growth ; slouched hats, from under which they scowled
their stealthy side-glances ; sneaking, cat-like tread ; and muffled cloaks
or blankets, that but badly concealed the hilts of knives and machetes.
None of these gentlemen, however, pursued or encountered us.
After a slow ride during the afternoon, we suddenly changed our
climate. We had left the tierras frias, and tierras templadas, (the
cold and temperate lands,) and had plunged at once, by a rapid descent
of the mountain, into the tierra caliente, where the sun was raging with
tropical fervor. The vegetation became entirely different and more luxu
riant, and a break among the hills suddenly disclosed to us the Valley of
Cuemavaca, bending to the east with its easy bow. The features of this
valley are entirely different from those of the Valley of Mexico, for, although
both possess many of the same elements of grandeur and sublimity, in
the lofty and wide-sweeping mountains ; yet there is a southern gentleness,
and purple haziness about this, that softens the picture, and are wanting
in the Vale of Mexico, in the high and rarefied atmosphere of which every
object, even at the greatest distance, stands out with almost microscopic

170 MEXICO.
distinctness. Besides this, the foliage is fuller, the forests thicker, the
sky milder, and everything betokens the sway of a bland and tropical
climate. A bend of the road around a precipice, revealed to us the town of
Cuemavaca, lying beyond the forest in the lap of the valley, while far in
the east the mountains were lost in the plain, like a distant line of sea.
(Mr company gathered together, on the announcement of the first sight of
our port of destination for the night. It was decided, by the novices in
Mexican travelling, that it could not be more distant than a couple of
leagues at farthest ; but long was the weary ride, descending and descend
ing, with scarcely a perceptible decrease of space, before we reached
the city.
In the course of this afternoon we passed through several Indian vil
lages, and saw numbers of people at work in the fields by the road side.
Two things struck me : first, the miserable hovels in which the Indians
are lodged, in comparison with which a decent dog-kennel at home is a
comfortable household ; and second, the fact that this, although the Sab-
bath, was no day of repose to these ever- working, but poor and thriftless
people. Many of the wretched creatures were stowed away under a
roof of thatch, stuck on the bare ground, with a hole left at one end to
crawl in !
What can be the benefit of a Republican form of government to masses
of such a population ? They have no ambition to improve their condi
tion, or in so plenteous a country it would be improved ; they are con
tent to live and lie like the beasts of the field ; they have no qualifications
for self-government, and they can have no hope, when a life of such toil
avails not to avoid such misery. Is it possible for such men to become
Republicans ? It appears to me that the life of a negro, under a good
master, in our country, is far better than the beastly degradation of the
Indian here. With us, he is at least a man ; but in Mexico, even the
instincts of his human nature are scarcely preserved.
It is true that these men are free, and have the unquestionable liberty,
after raising their crop of fruits or vegetables, to trot with it fifty or sixty
miles, on foot, to market ; where the produce of their toil is, in a few
hours, spent, either at the gambling table or the pulque shop. After this
they have the liberty, as soon as they get sober, to trot back again to their
kennels in the mountains, if they are not previously lassoed by some re
cruiting sergeant, and forced to " volunteer" in the army. Yet what is
the worth of such purposeless liberty or the worth of such purposeless
life ? There is not a single ingredient of a noble-spirited and highminded
mountain peasantry in them. Mixed in their races, they have been en
slaved and degraded by the conquest; ground into abject servility du
ring the Colonial government; corrupted in spirit by the superstitious
rites of an ignorant priesthood ; and now, without hope, without education,
without other interest in their welfare, than that of some good-hearted

CITY OF CUERNAVACA. 171
village curate, they drag out a miserable existence of beastiality and
crime. Shall suoh men be expected to govern themselves ?

It was long after sunset when we descended the last steep, and passed
a neat little village, where the people were sitting in front of their low-
roofed houses, from every one of which issued the tinkle of guitars.
The bright sky reflected a long twilight, and it was just beooming dark
when we trotted into Cuemavaca, after a ride of fourteen leagues.
Our companions had already reached the inn, and as we dashed into
the court-yard, we found them a tort et a iravers with the landlord about
rooms. We had seen a flaming advertisement of this tavern and its com
forts in the papers of the Capital, and counted largely on splendid apart
ments and savory supper after our tiresome ride and pic-nic breakfast.
But, as at the " diligence hotel " in the morning — everything went to
the tune of "No hai!" No hai beds, rooms, meats, soups, supper —
nada ! They had nothing ! We ended by securing two rooms, and I set
out to examine them, as well as my legs (stiff from being all day in the
hard Mexican stirrups) would let me. The first room I entered was
covered with water from the heavy rains. The second adjoined the first;
and, although the walls were damp, the floor was dry ; but there was
no window or opening except the door !
We had secured the room, and of course wanted beds ; because, room
and bed, and bureau, and wash-stand, and towels, and soap, are not all
synonymous here as in other civilized countries. Four of our travellers
had fortunately brought cots with them; but I had trusted to my two
blankets andjny old habits of foraging. At length the master managed
to find a bed for two more of us, and a cot for me, and thus the night was
provided for. We had resolved not to go without supper, and my talents
in that branch of our adventures having been proved in the morning,
I was dispatched to the kitchen. I will not disclose the history of my
negotiations on this occasion, but suffice it to say that in an hour's time
we had a soup ; a fragment of stewed mutton ; a dish of Lima beans ; a
famous dish of turkey and peppers ; and the table was set off by an enor
mous head of lettuce in the centre, garnished with outposts of oranges
on either side, while two enormous pine-apples reared their prickly leaves
in front and rear.
An hour afterward we had all retired to our windowless room, and
after piling our baggage against the door to keep out the robbers, I wrap
ped myself in my blanket, on the bare, pillowless, sacking-bottom, and
was soon asleep.
Monday, 19lh September. The morning was exceedingly fine, the
sun was out brightly, and there were no symptoms of the rain that

172 MEXICO.
had fallen during the night, except in the freshness it had imparted to
the luxuriant vegetation of the valley.
Before breakfast I sallied forth for a walk over the town. Cuemavaca
lies on a tongue of land jutting out into the lap of the valley. On its
western side, a narrow glen has been scooped out by the water which de
scends from the mountains, and its sides are thickly covered with the
richest verdure. To the east, the city again slopes rapidly, and then as
rapidly rises. I walked down this valley street past the church built by
Cortez, (an old picturesque edifice, filled with nooks and corners,) where
they were chanting a morning mass. In the yard of the Palace, or
Casa Municipal, at the end of the street, a body of dismounted cavalry
soldiers was going through the sword exercise. From this I went to the
Plaza in front of it, at present nearly covered with a large wooden am
phitheatre, that had been devoted to bull fights during the recent national
holydays. Around the edges of this edifice, the Indians and small farm
ers spread out their mats, covered with fine fruits and vegetables of the
tierra caliente. I passed up and down a number of the steep and nar
row streets, bordered with ranges of one-story houses, open and cool,
and fronted usually with balconies and porches screening them from the
scorching sun. The softer and gentler appearance of the people, as com
pared with those of the Valley of Mexico, struck me forcibly. The whole
has a Neapolitan air. The gardens are numerous and full of flowers.
By the street sides, small canals continually pour along the cool and
clear waters from the mountains.
At nine o'clock I returned to breakfast, and found it rather better than
our last night's supper. While this meal was preparing, I strolled out
into the garden back of the hotel.
The house once belonged to a convent, and was occupied by monks ;
but many years since it was purchased by a certain Joseph Laborde, who
played a bold part in the mine-gambling which once agitated the Mexi
cans with its speculative excitement.
In 1743, Laborde came, as a poor youth, to Mexico, and by a fortunate
venture in the mine of the Canada del Real de Tapujahua, he gained
immense wealth. After building a church in Tasco which cost him near
half a million, he was suddenly reduced to the greatest misery, both by
unlucky speculations, and the failure of mines from which he had drawn
an annual revenue of between two and three hundred thousand marks.
The Archbishop, however, permitted him to dispose of a golden soleil, en
riched with diamonds, which, in his palmy days, he had presented to his
church at Tasco ; and with the produce of the sale, which amounted to
nigh one hundred thousand dollars, he returned once more to Zacatecas.
This district was at that period nearly abandoned as a mining country,
and produced annually but fifty thousand marks of silver. But Laborde
immediately undertook tlie celebrated mine of Quebradilla, and in work
ing it, lost again, nearly all his capital. Yet was he not to be deterred.

LABORDE. 173
With the scanty remains of his wealth, he persevered in his labors;
struck on the veta granda, or great vein of La Esperenza, and thereby, a
second time, replenished his coffers. From that period, the produce
of the mines of Zacatecas rose to near five hundred thousand marks
a year, and Laborde, at his death, left three millions of livres. In the
meantime, however, he had forced his only daughter into a convent, in
order that he might bequeath his immense property unembarrassed to his
son ; who, in turn, infected like his father with religious bigotry, volunta
rily embraced the monastic life, and ended the family's career of avarice
and ambition.
During his days of prosperity, Laborde had owned the property on
which we are now staying, and embellished it with every adornment that
could bring out the beauties of surrounding nature. The dwelling is said
to have been magnificent before it was destroyed during the Revolution,
but nothing remains now of all the splendor with which the speculator
enriched it, except the traces of its beautiful garden. This is situated on
the western slope bending toward the glen, and contains near eight acres
in its two divisions. These he covered with a succession of gradually
descending terraces, filled with the rarest natural and exotic flowers. In
the midst of these gardens is still a tank for water-fowl, and over the high
western wall rises a mirador or bellevue, from which the eye ranges north,
south, and west, to the mountains over the plain, which is cut in its cen
tre by the tangled dell.
The northern division of this garden is reached by a flight of steps
from the first, and incloses a luxuriant grove of forest trees, broad-leaved
plantains, and a few solitary palms waving over all their fan- like branches.
In these dense and delicious shades through which the sun, at noon, can
scarcely penetrate, a large basin spreads out into a mimic lake. A flight
of fifteen steps descend to it from the bank, and were once filled with jars
of flowers. In the centre of this sheet two small gardens are still planted,
and the flowers bending over their sides and growing to their very edge,
seem floating on the waters. At the extreme end of the grounds, a deep
summer-house extends nearly the whole width of the field on arches, and
its walls are painted in fresco to resemble a beautiful garden filled with
flowers and birds of the rarest plumage. Looking at this from the south
end of the little lake, the deception is perfect, and you seem beholding the
double of the actual prospect, repeated by some witchery of art.
I would gladly have spent the day in this garden, but we had arranged
our journey so as to devote a portion of this morning to visit the adjacent '
hacienda of Temisco, a sugar plantation, owned by the Del Barrios, of
Mexico. Accordingly, after breakfast we mounted, and passing down the
steep descents to the east, we struck off into the fields in a southwardly
direction. The beautiful suburbs of Cuemavaca are chiefly inhabited by Indians,
whose houses are built along the narrow lanes ; and in a country where
it is a comfort to be all day long in the open air under the shade of trees,

174 MEXICO.
and where you require no covering except to shelter you in sleep and
showers, you may readily imagine that the dwellings of the people are
exceedingly slight. A few canes stuck on end, and a thatch of cane,
complete them.
But the broad-leaved plantain, the thready pride of China, the "feath
ery palm," bending over them, and matted together by lacing vines and
creeping plants covered with blossoms — these form the real dwellings.
The whole, in fact, would look like a picture from " Paul and Virginia" —
but for the figures ! " Unkempt" men, indolent and lounging ; begrimed
women, surrounded by a set of naked little imps as begrimed as they;
and all crawling or rolling over the filth of their earthen floors, or on
dirty hides stretched over sticks for a bed. A handful of corn, a bunch
of plantains, or a pan of beans picked from the nearest bushes, is their
daily food ; and here they burrow, like so many animals, from youth to
manhood, from manhood to the grave.

After leaving the city, our road lay for some distance along the high
table-land, and at length struck into the glen which passes from the west
of Cuemavaca, where, for the first time in Mexico, I actually lost the
high-road. Imagine the channel of a mountain-stream down the side of
an Alleghany mountain, with its stones chafed out of all order, and
many of them worn into deep clefts by the continual tread of mules fol
lowing each other, over one path, for centuries. This was the main turn
pike of the country to the port of Acapulco, and several of our party
managed to continue on horseback while descending the ravine ; but out
of respect both for myself and the animal I bestrode, I dismounted, and
climbed over the rocks and gullies to the bottom of the glen, where we
crossed a swift stream on a bridge. Ascending from this to the ridge on
the opposite side, in rather a scrambling manner, we entered the domain
of the hacienda* of Temisco, the buildings of which we shortly reached
after passing through an Indian village, where most of the laborers on
the estate reside.
This is one of the oldest establishments of note in the Republic, and
passed, not many years since, into the hands of the present owners for the
sum of $300,000. The houses (consisting of the main dwelling, a large
chapel, and all the requisite out-buildings for grinding the cane and re
fining the sugar,) were erected shortly after the conquest, and their walls
bear yet the marks of the bullets with which the refractory owner was
assailed during one of the numerous revolts in Mexico. He stood out
stoutly against the enemy, and mustering his faithful Indians within the
walls of his court-yard, repulsed the insurgents.
• " Hacienda," is ths name given to all estates or plantations in contradistinction to " Rancho," a iimr.

fes^.C-- '

INDIAN HUT IN THE TIERRA CAL1ENTK.

A HACIENDA. 175
The estate spreads over a tract of eleven leagues in length by three
in breadth. It employs about two hundred and fifty laborers, at two
and a half and three reals per day, who produce about fifty thousand
loaves of sugar, of from twenty-two to twenty-four pounds, per annum.
It is calculated that the molasses pays all the expenses of the establish
ment, which amount to near thirty thousand dollars. At the store of the
hacienda, (belonging to the proprietor of the estate,) almost the whole of
this sum is received back from the Indians, who, I perceived, purchased
even their bread. In addition to the revenue from the sugar crop, about
eight thousand head of cattle feed on the premises, half of which are the
property of its owner, the other half being strays from adjoining haciendas.

We were received by Don Rafael, (one of the brothers del Barrios,) who
we unexpectedly met on the estate. He conducted us into a long monastic-
looking hall, nearly bare of furniture, yet bearing traces of taste and re
finement, in a well-selected library and valuable piano in one corner, while
a hammock, suspended from the unplastered rafters, swung across the airy
apartment. Here we were most hospitably entertained, and enjoyed a
pleasant chat with the owner, in French, Spanish, English and German,
all of which languages the worthy gentleman speaks, — having not only
travelled in, but dwelt long and observingly in every country of Europe.
It was strange, in these wild portions of Mexico, in the midst of Indians,
to drop thus suddenly and unexpectedly by the side of a well-bred man,
dressed in his simple costume of a plain country farmer, who could con
verse with you in most of the modern tongues, upon all subjects — from
the collections of the Pitti Palace and the Vatican, to the breed and edu
cation of a game cock !
As we looked over the fields of cane, waving their long, delicate
green leaves, in the mid-day sunshine to the south, he pointed out to us the
site of an Indian village, at the distance of three leagues, ihe inhabitants
of which are almost in their native state. He told us, that they do not permit
the visits of white people; and that, numbering more than three thousand,
they come out in delegations to work at the haciendas, being governed al home
by their own magistrates, administering their own laws, and employing a Cath
olic priest, once a year, to shrive them of their sins. The money they receive
in payment of wages, at the haciendas, is taken home and buried ; and
as they produce the cotton and skins for their dress, and the corn and
beans for their food, they purchase nothing at the sfores. They form a
good and harmless community of people, rarely committing a depredation
upon the neighboring farmers, and only occasionally lassoing a cow or a*
bull, which they say they " do not steal, but take for food." If they are
chased on such occasions, so great is their speed of foot, they are rarely
caught even by the swiftest horses ; and if their settlement is ever entered
by a white, the transgressor is immediately seized, put under guard in a large
hut, and he and his animal are fed and carefully attended to until the follow-

176 MEXICO.
¦Mg day, when he is dispatched from ihe village under an escort of Indians,
who watch him until far beyond the limits of the primitive settlement.
Du Roslan and myself felt a strong desire (notwithstanding the inhibi
tion,) to visit this original community, as one of the most interesting objects
of our journey ; but the rest of our party objecting, we were forced to
submit to the law of majorities in our wandering tribe.
I observed, that on this hacienda the proprietors have introduced all
the improvements in the art of making sugar, and obtained their horizontal
rollers and boiling-pans from New- York. How they reached their places
over the wretched roads, must ever remain a riddle to others but Mexican
teamsters ; and yet, after all the immense outlay of capital, in the pur
chase and improvement of this property, the proprietor complains bitterly,
this year, of the difficulty of selling its produce, and the general depres
sion of the times. With roads to transport his crop to market, and
with ideas beyond ihe back of a mule as the only means of transportation, he
would not be forced to complain long of stagnant trade and trifling profits.
Peace, internal improvement, and native enterprise, unmolested by fiscal
legislation, are what Mexico requires ; and, until she obtains them, the
planter may vainly expend his fortune in mechanical improvements.

We reached Cuemavaca about 3 o'clock, meeting on the way a number
of muleteers, and Indians with their wives, returning from market. A
gang of thieves, sent under a guard to the town prison, also passed us on
the road.
We entered the city, through the delightful suburb of groves. The
families of many of the better classes of the inhabitants were sitting under
the shade of their porches, and it was impossible to avoid remarking the
delicate beauty of the females.
Indolence is said to be the general characteristic of Cuemavaca; and,
as in all fine climates, it is fatal to enterprise and industry. The tem
perature is too high for these virtues. Man wants but shade, shelter,
and a gratified appetite, and there is no inducement to make the interior
of dwellings either beautiful or attractive. Working in the open air
fatigues — reading, within, makes them drowsy. They rise early, because
it is too warm to lie in bed ; they go to mass, for exercise in the cool and
balmy morning air ; they go to sleep after their meals, because it is
too warm to walk about ; and they,go to vespers, to pass the time until the
hour arrives for another meal, as preparatory to another nap ! And thus,
between sleep, piety, and victuals, life passes aimlessly enough, in this
region of eternal summer.

A FANDANGO. 177
We lounged for an hour or two in Laborde's beautiful garden, watching
he sunset over the western glen, and found it difficult to leave even for the
promise of a dinner. While we had been on our morning visit to the
nacienda, the diligence arrived from Mexico, and the hungry passengers,
who had travelled since three o'clock almost without food, made a deep
inroad in the larder. It required some energy to repair this havoc ; and
as our dinner had been ordered at six o'clock, I took occasion to pay my
respects to the cook-maid. With the aid of a little cash and persuasion,
I managed to preserve our own stores untouched until we penetrate far
ther into the country, where, in all likelihood, we will need them more.
After dinner, we took a walk by moonlight through the town. The
night was as cloudless and serene, as one of our summer evenings by
the sea-shore.
Antonio, the broken-nosed hero, and owner of the cur, proposed that
we should go to see a fandango, at the house of one of the burghers,
who was his friend. He led the way, through several streets, to a neat
dwelling in the midst of a garden, where we found a row of elderly ladies
strung on high-backed chairs against the wall, while a dozen young and
pretty ones (by the light of a couple of starved tallow candles,) received
the compliments of as many of the village beaux. Two or three musi
cians were seated in a comer strumming their bandalones, and going
through a half hour of preparatory tuning, while the company gathered.
At length, when all had assembled, the schoolmaster — a veteran and a
bachelor, the briskest and busiest man of the party — constituted himself
master of ceremonies for the evening, and insisted on our joining in a
contra dance, got up expressly for the strangers. Du Roslan and myself
joined the dance, on my principle of "taking people as they are, and
doing as they do ;" besides that I think it always in the worst taste to
leave men, no matter how humble or poor they may be, under the im
pression that you have visited them as curiosities. After footing it through,
we handed the servants a couple of dollars to bring in refreshments of
" Perfect-love" and " Noyau" for the ladies, and something more likely
to be relished by the gentlemen. This we understood was not contrary
to the rules of " good society ;" — so they sipped and became livelier. A
couple took the floor — the lady with castanets, and the man chanting an
air to the guitar. Another pair followed their example, while the re
mainder formed a cotillon, to the twang of the rest of the instruments.
The Cuernavacans seemed wide awake, for once at least, and we stole
off quietly at midnight, in the midst of an uproar of music and merriment.

20th September. At four o'clock, day was just breaking and the moon
still shining, when we passed through the suburbs of Cuemavaca. As
we reached the highlands of the plateau, where the barranca breaks pre
cipitously, the sun rose. There had been no rain during the nio-ht • the
sky was perfectly clear, and in the distance lay the mountains of the
12

178 - MEXICO,
southern Sierra, with the morning mists resting like lakes among their
folds. Passing over the declivitous road we had traversed yesterday, we soon
struck off to the right, near the hacienda of Temisco, and after crossing
a deep ravine, rose to a still higher plateau, where we enjoyed a beautiful
view of this splendid estate, with its white walls and chapel tower,
buried in the middle of bright green cane-fields, waving with the fresh
breeze in the early light.
From this eminence the guide (who was a half-breed Indian and Ne
gro,) pointed out to me a small mountain, at the extremity of the plain in
front, on which was situated the Pyramid of Xochicalco — the subject of
our day's explorations. The cerro appears to rise directly out of the
levels between two mountains, and the plain continuing to its very foot,
might seemingly be traversed in half an hour. Accordingly, I expressed
this opinion to the guide, and put my horse directly in motion for it ; but
the half-breed turned off* to the right. I remonstrated, as the whole pla
teau appeared to be a perfect prairie, smooth and easily crossed ; but he
insisted that in the straight forward direction, and, indeed, in all direc
tions, it was cut by one of those vast barrancas, which, worn by the attri
tion of water for ages, break on you unexpectedly in the most level fields,
forcing you frequently to tread back your path, or to go miles around for
a suitable crossing. The space in a direct line over these gullies may be
no more than fifty yards before you strike the same level on the opposite
bank — and yet to reach it, you are compelled to descend hundreds of
feet and ascend again, among rocks and herbage, for the distance of a
mile. Such was the account of the barrancas, given by our guide, except
that he declared the one in front of us to be at present entirely impassable.
I submitted, therefore, to his advice, and turning off with him to the right,
we trotted away at the head of our party, and soon lost sight of our lag
ging friends.
In a quarter of an hour we reached one of the barrancas of which he
had spoken, and it fully justified his description : — a wide, yawning gulf
in the midst of the plain, with precipitous sides tangled with rocks and
shrubbery. Although the path was scarcely broad enough for the horse's feet,—
with a steep towering on the right, and a precipice of a hundred yards
plunging down immediately on his left, — this bold rider never quitted his
animal, but pushed right onward. I confess that I paused before I fol
lowed. Two travellers, who passed us half an hour before, had already de
scended, and were thridding their way on the other side of the glen among
the rocks. Instead, however, of taking the side of the opposite steep in
a right line with the descent, as they ought to have done, they had fol
lowed the downward course of the stream in seeking for an easier rise;
and they were forced to halt before a pile of impassable roclis, from which
they shouted to our guide for directions.

THE BARRANCA. 179
When I again caught a glimpse of the half-breed, his head was rising
and sinking with the motion of his horse, a hundred feet below me, as
he slid along the shelving precipices of the barranca. Yet there was
no alternative but to follow him ; and as my horse was an old roadster
in the tierra caliente, I resolved not to be outdone, and so, giving him his
own time and control of the bridle, I trusted to his sagacity, and put him
in the path. Nor had I occasion to regret my confidence in the beast ;
he did his work bravely, feeling his path, leaning against the upper sides
of the dangerous passes, and clambering along with the tenacity of a fly
and the activity of a cat. But when we were within fifty feet of the bot
tom of the ravine, a sharp turn to the right disclosed to me an almost
headlong wall of rock for the remaining distance, into which steps had
been cut that seemed scarcely passable on foot. I looked about me, and
found there was room to dismount. Although I had great confidence in
the horse, I confess to more in my own feet ; and thus scrambling on
ahead, at the length of my lasso, I led the animal to the bottom of the
dell, through which ran a broad and rapid stream swollen by the recent
rains. Here I found the guide waiting for me. We plunged in at once,
and partly swimming the horses and partly scrambling over the huge
stones that formed the bed of the torrent, we attained the western bank
in safety.
Fairly past one difficulty, another confronted us in the ascent of the op
posite side, which seemed steeper and more craggy than the other. De
termined to try my horse's mettle, I now continued on his back, and
prepared him for what he had to expect by leaping a stone-wall at the foot
of the declivity. He took at once nimbly to the crags, sprang after the
guide from rock to rock and ledge to ledge, almost at a run ; neither laid
his ears to his neck for a moment, nor faltered for whip, spur, or word of
encouragement ; and, in half the time occupied in the descent, placed me
on the top of the plateau.
But our companions were missing. From our elevated position, we
commanded an uninterrupted view over the levels of the opposite prairie,
yet they were neither on it, nor winding down the sides of the glen. Mr.
Black soon made his appearance, and followed us up the cliffs ; but he
was not able to account for the rest of the party. In half an hour, how
ever, they appeared near a mile up the barranca fording the river ; and
as it was evident that they were in the right direction and saw us, we
pushed on. Descending another fold of the ravines, and again crossing
an arm of the same stream, and zig-zagging another hill to its summit, we
found ourselves at last on the table-land without the interruption of more
barrancas. Here we were rejoined by some of the party, who reported one of the
mules to be broken down. The other, however, soon reached us, and it
was sent back unladen, for the carga of the useless beast that was de-
tained at the foot of the last declivity.
12*

180 MEXICO.
In half an hour we were again in motion, after a fruitless effort to shoot
a young buck we had started in a neighboring corn-field. The sun was
now intensely hot, and from its influence and the exercise of the morn
ing, I was drenched with perspiration ; nor was it disagreeable to find the
pores of the skin thus relieved, after a residence of eight months in the
Valley of Mexico, where the sensation is scarcely known.
I put up my umbrella to screen myself as much as" possible from the
direct rays, but the heat was reflected as scorchingly from the naked
plain and shrubless hills. Nevertheless, wearied by the fatigue of six
hours in the saddle without food, I soon fell into a doze, which lasted
until we entered the bare gorge between the hills through which com-
mences the ascent to the ruined pyramid.
Here, among some scanty bushes which afforded shade and shelter,
we dismounted to breakfast ; but, unluckily, water had been entirely
forgotten by our servants ; there was not a drop in the gourds or can
teens. Our pic-nic feast of sardines, ham, sausage, and corned-beef, con
sequently but added to a parching thirst, which there was no hope of
allaying, but by slow draughts of claret and sherry that had been exposed
for hours to a blazing sun on the backs of mules. Nor was this all.
Scarcely had we seated ourselves, when clouds of black-flies and mosqui
tos came down from their nests among the ruins, and I write this memo
rial of them with hands inflamed by their inexorable stings.
In a bad humor, as you may naturally suppose, for antiquarian re
searches, I nevertheless mounted my horse as soon as breakfast was over,
and ascended the hill with Pedro ; while my companions, who had less
anxiety about such matters, laid down under an awning of serapes
stretched from tree to tree, to finish the nap that had been interrupted
at half-past three in the morning.

THE RUINS OF THE PYRAMID OF XOCHICALCO.

At the distance of six leagues from the city of Cuemavaca lies a cerro,
three hundred feet in height, which, with the ruins that crown it, is known
by the name of Xochicalco, or " the Hill of Flowers." The base of
•this eminence is surrounded by the very distinct remains of a deep and
wide ditch ; its summit is attained by five spiral terraces ; the walls
that support them are built of stone, joined by cement, and are still quite
perfect ; and, at regular distances, as if to buttress these terraces, there
are remains of bulwarks shaped like the bastions of a fortification. The
summit of the hill is a wide esplanade, on the eastern side of which are
still perceptible three truncated cones, resembling the tumuli found among
many similar ruins in Mexico. On the other sides there are also large

RUINS OF XOCHICALCO.

PYRAMID OF XOCHICALCO. 181
heaps of loose stones of irregular shape, which seem to have formed por
tions of similar mounds or tumuli, or, perhaps, parts of fortifications in
connection with the wall that is alleged by the old writers to have sur
rounded the base of the pyramid, but of which I could discern no traces.
The stones forming parts of the conical remains, have evidently been
shaped by the hand of art, and are often found covered with an exterior
coat of mortar, specimens of which I took away with me as sharp and
perfect as the day it was laid on centuries ago.
Near the base of the last terrace, on which the pyramid rises, the es
planade is covered with trees and tangled vines, but the body of the plat
form is cultivated as a corn-field. We found the Indian owner at work
in it, and were supplied by him with the long-desired comfort of a gourd
of water. He pointed out to us the way to the summit of the terrace
through the thick brambles; and rearing our horses up the crumbling
stones of the wall, we stood before the ruins of this interesting pyramid,
the remains of which, left by the neighboring planters after they had
borne away enough to build the walls of their haciendas, now lie buried
in a grove of palmettos, bananas, and forest-trees, apparently the growth
of many hundred years.
Indeed, this pyramid seems to have been (like the Forum and Collis-
eum at Rome,) the quarry for all the builders of the vicinity ; and Alzate,
who visited it as far back as 1777, relates, that not more than twenty years
before, ihe five terraces of which it consisted, were still perfect; and that on
the eastern side of the upper platform there had been a magnificent
throne carved from porphyry, and covered with hieroglyphics of the most
graceful sculpture. Soon after this period, however, the work of de
struction was begun by a certain Estrada, and it is not more than a couple
of years since one of the wealthiest planters of the neighborhood ended
the line of spoilers by carrying off enormous loads of the squared and
sculptured materials, to build a tank in a barranca to bathe his cattle !
All that now remains of the five stories, terraces, or bodies of the pyra
mid, are portions of ihe first, the whole of which is of dressed porphyrytic
rock, covered with singular figures and hieroglyphics executed in a skil
ful manner. The opposite plate presents a general view of the ruins as
seen from the westward.
The basement is a rectangular building, and its dimensions on the
northern front, measured above the plinth, are sixty-four feet in length,
by fifty-eight in depth on the western front. The height between the
plinth and frieze is nearly ten feet; the breadth of the frieze is three feet
and a half, and of the cornice one foot and five inches. I placed my
compass on the wall, and found the lines of the edifice to correspond ex
actly with the cardinal points.
The western front is quite clear of bushes and fallen stones, and we
had an opportunity to examine minutely the sculpture of the northwest
ern corner, which is very accurately delineated by Nebel* in tlte sec
ond engraving. * Viaje pittoreco y Arqueolo/jico a la Kepublica de Mexico.

182

MEXICO.

In the left-hand corner of this sculpture will be perceived the head of
a monstrous beast, whose bearded and open jaws are armed with sharp
teeth, from between which protrudes a forked tongue. In front of this is
a crook or staff, terminated by a plume of feathers, similar to that of the
head-dress of the figures that will be subsequently described. Beneath
the mouth of the monster is a square, resembling a hieroglyph, or perhaps
a Chinese letter ; and below this is a rabbit, a figure which will be no-
ticed again on the corner stone that formed part of the base of the second
story, as well as on the frieze of the first.
Nothing of this pyramid remains so uninjured as the northern front-
and this, with the exception of parts of the frieze and cornice, is still en
tire. I present, in the plate marked A, a copy of the drawing made of
it by Alzate at the period of his visit in 1777.
It will be perceived, that although the figures at the corners somewhat
resemble those already described on the western front, yet the lines pro
ceeding from the mouths of the monsters' heads fall in a curve ; and it
was doubtless from these that the story repeated by Humboldt originated,
that " at the Pyramid of Xochicalco there were representations of croco
diles spouting water." They certainly are not crocodiles, but more prob-
ably, some fabulous monsters fashioned from the imaginations of the un-
known builders, or compounded, perhaps, of various symbols by which
they represented their deities.
On the frieze are constantly repeated the figures represented by Nebel
in the following drawings :

fis

fo

w $

ra

fo

U

PYRAMID OF XOCHICALCO.

183

The figures in both of these bassi-relievi are seated cross-legged;
plumes depend from a cap of the one, and from an odd head-dress of the
other ; and the left hand of the figure in the second drawing rests upon
an ornament or symbol. In the figure of the first drawing the right hand
is placed on the thigh ; the left holds a sort of crooked dagger, and a cu
rious bandage, not unlike a pair of spectacles, is over the eyes. Four
symbols cover the rest of the square — a rabbit, a figure precisely like
the letter J, another like the letter V, on its side, and an oval in which
there is a cross. These relievos, as I before observed, run round the
whole of the remaining frieze, while the cornice above it is sculptured with
the tasteful ovals represented in the drawing of the northwestern angle.
I could not find any remains of color on the sculpture, which is gene
rally between three and four inches deep. I have represented the outlines
of the stones of which the edifice is composed in the design of ihe north
western angle. They are laid upon each other without cement, and kept
in place by their weight alone ; and as the sculpture of a figure is seen
to run frequently over several of them, there can be no doubt that the bassi-
relievi were cut after the pyramid had been erected.
Some idea may be formed of the immense labor with which this build
ing was constructed, from measurements I made of several of the masses
of porphyry that compose it. The whole building occupies a space of
three thousand sevdn hundred and twelve square feet— -the middle stone
in the first story at the north end, is seven feet eleven inches long, and
two feet nine inches broad ; the stone at the northeast corner on the
second story, represented in the plate as bearing the figure of a. rabbit, is
five feet two inches long, and two feet six inches broad ; and the stone at

184 MEXICO.
the base of the southwest corner is two feet seven inches high, five feet
long, and four feet seven inches broad.
When it is recollected that these materials were not found in the neigh
borhood, but were brought from a great distance, and borne up a hill,
(more than three hundred feet high,) we cannot fail to be struck with the
industry, toil and ingenuity of the builders, especially as the use of beasts
of burden was at that time unknown in Mexico. Nor was this edifice on
the summit the only portion of the architect's labor. Huge rocks were
brought to form the walls supporting the terraces that surrounded the hill
a league in circumference, and the whole of that immense mass was
cased in stone. Beyond these terraces again, there was still another
immense task in the ditch, of even greater extent, which had to be dug
and regularly embanked ! When you combine all these difficulties and
all their labors, I think you will agree with me, that there are but few
works, not of essential utility, undertaken in the present age by civilized
nations, that do not sink into insignificance when contrasted with the hill
of Xochiealco, from whose summit towered its lofty pyramid of sculptured
porphyry. There appears to be no doubt that a flight of steps rose on the western
front from the commencement of the terrace, and terminated before three
portals, the remains of which Nebel alleges he discovered ; but since
his visit, the edifice has been so much injured, and the vegetation has
sprung up so vigorously, that I was unable to perceive any indications of
the apertures. It is probable that these led to the interior of the Temple,
whence there was a communication with the subterranean vaults that
have been explored within a few years by persons acting under orders
of the Government. I endeavored to examine these underground apart
ments as soon as I found the opening to them, at the foot of the first
terrace on the northern side of the hill ; but the guide professed igno
rance of the interior, and the Indian he had engaged to pilot me failed in
attending. Indeed, such is the superstition of these simple-minded people,
that you find it difficult to investigate anything in which their services
are required, among the relics of their ancient race. They believe that
the mounds and caverns are haunted by the spirits of their ancestors—
that they were places of sepulture or holiness — and few have the hardi
hood to assist in revealing their secrets.
In examining various works on the subject of these ruins, the best notice
I have found of them is the account of a visit of certain gentlemen in
March, 1835, by order of the Supreme Government.* In making a com
plete examination, both of the pyramid and the hill, this party explored
the caverns and vaults.
After describing their course through various dark and narrow pas
sages, the walls of which were covered with a hard and varnished gray
cement, that preserved its lustre in a remarkable degree, they came" to
* Published in the Revista Mejicana of 1835.

PYRAMID OF XOCHICALCO. 185
two enormous pillars, or rather two masses, cleft from the rock of which
the hill is composed, affording three entrances, between them, to a saloon
near ninety feet in extent. Above them was a cupola of regular shape,
supported by cut stones disposed in circles, in the middle of which was
an aperture reaching perhaps to the summit of the pyramid. The writer
describes the stones that compose the cupola as " diminishing gradually
in size as they rise to the top, and forming a beautiful mosaic." It is
much to be regretted that these explorers made no drawing of the spot,
as it would be most interesting to see the outline of what we are thus led
to believe is a regular arch ; and it is equally to be regretted, that the
superstitions of the Indians and the fear of wild beasts, scorpions and
serpents, that are said to fill these sombre crypts, prevent a more ex
tended examination of the interior of the hill. I was alone deterred by
the haste of my companions, from delaying, at least another day, and
devoting it to the exploration of these vaults.
There is a tradition among the Indians, related by Alzate, that when
the pyramid still numbered its five stories, there was on, or near, the hill
of Xochicalco, an enormous stone or group, representing a man whose
entrails an eagle was tearing ; but of this there are now no vestiges.
Nebel states, that there was undoubtedly a communication from the inte
rior of the temple to the vaults below ; and, founding his belief on Indian
tradition and on a discovery he made at the top of the first terrace, he
alleges, that an aperture extended from the summit of the pyramid to the
crypt we have described, and immediately beneath it was placed an
altar, on which the sun's rays fell when that luminary became vertical.
What his authorities were it is difficult to determine ; but I imagine the
tale to be quite as fanciful as many other portions of his beautiful work.
This gentleman has given a drawing of what he terms the " Restora
tion of the Pyramid of Xochicalco," as it is supposed to have appeared
when its terraces were all complete ; and although I do not believe he
has sufficient authority for ihe figures with which he adorned the upper
stories of the edifice, I have adopted his ideas generally in the following
drawing, with the exception of adding a frieze and cornice to each of the
stories, as will be seen, also, hereafter, in the outlines of the "Pyramid
of Papantla."

186

MEXICO.

RESTORATION OF THE PYRAMID OF XOCHICALCO.

Such, in all probability — from the authority of unimpeachable tradi
tions, and the remains now crumbling to ruins and overgrown with the
forest at its base — such, was the Pyramid of Xochicalco, when it first rose
aloft covered with its curious symbols of mystic rites, and received from
the Indian builders its dedication to the gods, or to the glory of some
sovereign whose bones were to moulder within. Who those builders and
consecrators were no one can tell. There is no tradition of them or of
the temple. When first discovered, no one knew to what it had been
devoted, or who had built it. It had outlasted both history and memory !
But no matter who built, or what nation used it as temple or tomb,
those who conceived and executed it were persons of taste, refinement and
civilization ; and I venture to assert, that no one who examines the figures
with which it is covered, can fail to connect the designers with the people
who dwelt and worshipped in the palaces and temples of Uxmal and
Palenque. Fragmentary fragment as this pyramid is, it may still be deemed in
outline, material, carving, design, and execution, one of the most remark
able of the antiquities of America. It denotes, besides, an ancient civili
zation and architectural progress, that may well entitle the inhabitants of
our Continent to the character of an Original race. On the other hand,
(for those who are fond of tracing resemblances, and believe that whatever
there was of art, science, or cultivation among the aborigines, came frorp
the " old world,") there is much in the shape, proportions and sculptures
of this pyramid, to connect its architects with the Egyptians.

CROSSING A RIVER. 187
The day was far advanced, when I stood for the last time on the comer-
stone of the upper terrace and looked at the beautiful prospect around me.
It was the centre of a mighty plain. Running due north were the re-
mains of an ancient paved road, leading over prairie and barranca to the
city,* distinctly visible at the foot of the Sierra Madre — and, all around,
at the distance of some miles, east, west, and south, rose lofty mountains,
among whose valley-folds nestled the white walls of haciendas, that owed
their strength and massiveness to the spoliation of the very ruins on which
I stood. Palace, temple, tomb, fortification, whatever it was, (and to all
these uses has it been appropriated by the guessing tribe of antiquarians,)
the Pyramid of Xochicalco was nobly situated in its day and generation,
and no one will now visit its crumbling remains without a better opinion
of the unfortunate races, who were pushed aside to make room for the
growth and expansion of European power.

TETECALA.

It was near three o'clock, when we again took up our line of march
under a burning sun; and, lingering with Pedro until after my compan
ions had departed, I found, on reaching the bottom of the hill, that they
were already out of sight, and that all traces of them were lost on the
path among the trees and bushes. I shouted — but there was no an
swer. I inquired at the first Indian hut I passed, but no travellers had
gone that way ; and, although following a distinct and apparently straight
forward road, I acknowledge that I was lost. To add to my disquietude,
I had forgotten the name of the village at which we were to lodge. It
was useless, however, to sit down in the forest, and 1 therefore resolved
to push onward with confidence that the path led somewhere. I had not
gone more than half a mile when I came up with another straggler of
our party— lost, like myself— and we trotted along side by side, occa
sionally shouting for our companions, and then halting a moment to take
breath in the close and sultry air, filled with clouds of mosquitos and
flies that settled on our hands and faces as soon as we drew our bridles.
Suddenly, our road terminated at the margin of a wide stream, which
was swollen over its banks by the late heavy rains, and was dashing along
with the rapidity of a mill-race. On the opposite shore the road again
reappeared, and we judged that this was of course the ford.
Pedro, who was mounted on a stout, long-legged animal, was sent ahead,
and partly swimming his animal and partly wading, he reached the bank
in safety. I immediately followed, but my horse was both short limbed,
and weary from the exertions he had made in the morning. Scarcely had
the water risen above his girth when he was off his legs. I kept his head
* Cuemavaca.

188 MEXICO.
toward the opposite shore, and as much against the stream as possible •
but with all his efforts he could make no headway, and was swept bodily
down by the current toward a wreck of broken trees and branches, that
bent over the water from the bank we had quitted. I spurred, whipped,
encouraged him, without avail. He made another effort ; but failing in
that, kept his head above water and resigned himself to the tide. I
felt my situation to be dangerous, especially as I was rapidly approach
ing the long and sharp branches, by which I knew that I should be severely
injured. I resolved, therefore,^ to leap off and swim for the bank, which
was not more than a dozen paces distant. But, at that moment, Pedro
galloped down to the point opposite which I was drifting ; and, as I was
about executing my purpose, I saw his lasso, flung with great accu
racy, settle around my animal's head. With the end wound round his
saddle-bow, Pedro stood firmly on the shore, and, in a minute, the action
of the current had swung my horse on soundings. Drenched as I was,
I shall ever hereafter feel a debt of gratitude to a lasso — which is rarely
felt for anything in the shape of a noose !
My companion and myself continued our journey, both wet, (for he
had fared not much better than myself,) but both gratified with our
drenching, as it had the effect of a bath, while the evaporation of the water
from our soaking clothes, cooled and refreshed us.
Thus through valley and glade, (rarely meeting an Indian or passing
one of their miserable houses,) and without intelligence of our party, we
pushed onward until about six o'clock in the evening, when we reached
a wide and cultivated plain, traversed by a considerable stream, resembling
in its verdant banks and soft meadows set in a frame of lofty mountains,
the scenery about the sources of our Potomac. We had not long jour-
nied over this plain before we passed the hacienda of Miacatlan. At a
short distance, to the right of it, appeared the village of Tetecala. As
soon as a passing Indian mentioned the name, we recollected it to be that
of our halting-place for the night.
We speedily passed an Indian suburb, buried, as usual throughout the
tierra caliente, in flowers and foliage, among which lounged the idle and
contented population. Here we were met by a guide, who had been sent
forward by our courteous entertainers, and we were soon under the shelter
of their friendly roof.
Our horses were quickly unsaddled and bounding over the wide corral;
and refreshed by a clean suit and a cigarrito, I had strolled over the
tasteful village, and visited the market and the church (one of the neatest
I have seen, especially in the simple and true taste of its architecture,
and the arrangement of the altar and the pulpits,) before our companions
made their appearance. It turned out, after all, that they — not we — had
mistaken the road, and had wandered much out of their way under the
direction of a guide! It is better sometimes to have none.
In addition to all our antiquarian researches, to-day we have travelled
nearly fifteen leagues, and although I have earned a right to a soft pillow

A RANCHO. 189
and bed, yet as there are none of these comforts in the house for me, I
wrap myself in my serape on the hard settee, with full expectation of a
night of sound repose.

21st September— Wednesday. We left Tetecala rather late this morn
ing, without other refreshments than a cup of chocolate and a biscuit, as
our intention was to stop at the hacienda of Cocoyotla, where we arrived
about 11 o'clock.
We had no letter of introduction to Senor Sylva, the proprietor ; but
we were, nevertheless, most kindly received by him. He requested us to
dismount, and to amuse ourselves by inspecting his garden and orange-
grove while he ordered breakfast.
This is a small, but one of the most beautiful estates in the tierra
caliente. A handsome chapel-tower has recently been added to the old
edifice ; a wing on broad arches has been given to the dwelling, and the
garden is kept in tasteful order.
Back of the house and bordering the garden, sweeps along a sweet
stream, some twenty yards in width, and, by canals from it, the grounds
are plentifully supplied with water. But the gem of Cocoyotla is the
orangery. It is not only a grove, but a miniature forest, interspersed
with broad-leaved plaintains, guyavas, cocos, palms, and mammeis. It
was burthened with fruits ; and a multitude of birds, undisturbed by the
sportsman, have made their abodes among the shadowy branches.
We sauntered about in the delicious and fragrant shade for half an
hour, while the gardener supplied us with the finest fruits. We were
then summoned to an excellent breakfast of several courses, garnished
with capital wine.
When our repast was concluded, Senor Sylva conducted us over his-
house ; showed us the interior of the neat church, where he has made
pedestals for the figures of various saints out of stalactites from some
neighboring cavern ; and finally dismissed us, with sacks of the choicest
fruit, which he had ordered to be selected from his grove.

RANCHO DE MICHAPAS.
P. M. Our journey from this hacienda was toward the Cave of Caca-
huawamilpa, which we propose visiting to-morrow, and we have reached,
to-night, the rancho of Michapas.
This is a new feature in our travels. Hitherto we have been o-uests
at haciendas and comfortable town dwellings, but to-night we are lodged
in, a rancho — a small farmer's dwelling — an Indian hut.
We arrived about five o'clock, after a warm ride over wide and solitary
moors, with a back ground of the mountains we passed yesterday. In

190 MEXICO.
front another Sierra stretches. along the horizon ; and in the foreground
of the picture, a lake, near a mile in circuit, spreads out its silver sheet
in the sunset, margined with wide-spreading trees and covered with water
fowl. The house is built of mud and reeds, matted together ; that is, there
are four walls without other aperture but a door, while a thatch, supported
on poles, spreads on either side from the roof-tree, forming a porch in
front. This thatch is not allowed to touch the tops of the walls, but be
tween them and it, all around the house^ a space of five or six feet has
been left, by means of which a free circulation of air is kept up within.
The interior (of one room,) is in perfect keeping with this aboriginal sim-
plicity. Along the western wall there are a number of wretched engra
vings of saints, with inscriptions and verses beneath them ; next, a huge
picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe, with tarnished gilded rays, blazes
in the centre ; and near the corner is nailed a massive cross, with the
figure of our Saviour apparently bleeding at every pore. A reed and
spear are crossed below it, and large wreaths and festoons of marigolds
are hung around. Six tressels, with reeds spread over them, stand
against the wall ; and in one corner a dilapidated canopy, with a tattered
curtain, rears its pretentious head to do the honors of state-bedstead.
The floor is of earth, and, in a corner, are safely stowed our saddles, bridles,
guns, pistols, holsters, swords and spurs — so that taking a sidelong glance
at the whole establishment, you might well doubt whether you were in a
stable, church, sleeping-room or chicken-coop !
Don Miguel Benito — the owner and proprietor of this valuable cata
logue of domestic comforts — received us with great cordiality. He is a
man some fifty years of age ; delights in a shirt, the sleeves of which
have been so long rolled up, that there is no longer anything to roll down ;
and a pair of those elastic leather-breeches that last one's life-time in
Mexico, and grow to any size that may be required, as the fortunate
owner happens to fatten with his years. Not the least curious part of
Don Miguel's household, is his female establishment. He appears to be a
sort of Grand Turk, as not less than a dozen women, of all colors and
complexions, hover about his dwellings ; while at least an equal number
of little urchins, with light hair and dark, (but all with an extraordinary
resemblance to the Don,) roll over the mud floors of the neighboring huts,
or amuse themselves by lassoing the chickens.
G  , the caterer of our mess, thought it but a due compliment to Dor.
Miguel (who does not disdain to receive your money) to order supper —
though we resolved to fall back in case of necessity upon our own stores,
and accordingly, unpacked some pots of soup and sardines.
In the course of an hour, a board was spread upon four sticks, and in
the middle of it was placed a massive brown earthen platter, with the
stew. At the same time, a dirty copper spoon and a hot tortillia were
laid before each of us. Although we had determined to hold ourselves
in reserve for our soups, yet there was but little left of the savory mess.

THE ALCALDE. 191
Our turtle, flanked with lemons and claret, then came into play ; and the
repast was ended by another smoking platter of the universal frijoles.
Wild and primitive as was the scene among these simple Indians, I
have seldom passed a pleasanter evening, enlivened with song and wit.
When we crept to our reed tressels and serapes, at eleven o'clock, I found
that the state-bed was already occupied by a smart-looking fellow from
the West Coast, (who I take to have been rather deeply engaged in the
contraband) and his young wife — a lively looking lass, rather whiter
than the rest of the brood — who had spruced herself up on our arrival.
Twelve of our party lodged together in that capacious apartment, while
Don Miguel betook himself, with the rest of his household, to mats under
the porch.
22nd September. It rained heavily last night, but the morning, as usual,
was fresh, clear and warm. After a cup of chocolate, we sallied forth
toward the Cave of Cacahuawamilpa, having previously dispatched our
arrieros with the mules to Tetecala, to await our return on our journey
toward Cuautla.
Our forces this morning were increased by the addition of some twelve
or thirteen Indians, who had been engaged by Don Miguel to accompany
us as guides to the cavern. They bore with them the rockets and torches
which were to be burned within, and a large quantity of twine for thrid-
ding the labyrinth.
Leaving the lake, situated on the very edge of the table-land, we
struck down a deep barranca, at the bottom of which our horses sunk
nearly to their girths at every footstep, in an oozy marsh, that had not
been improved by last night's rain. But passing these bogs, we ascended
a steep line of hills, whence there was a splendid view of the snow-cap
ped volcanoes of Puebla, and soon reached the Indian village of Totla-
wahmilpa, where it was necessary to procure a " license" to visit the
cavern, or, in other words, where the authorities extort a sum of money
from every passenger, under the plea of keeping the road open, and the
entrance safe. As we had special passports from the Mexican Govern
ment to go where we pleased in the tierra caliente, I thought this precaution
unnecessary, but our Indians refused to budge a peg without a visit to the
Alcalde ; and therefore, while some of the party entered a hut, and set
the women to cooking tortillias, others proceeded with the passports to the
civic authorities.
We found the Alcalde to be a stout old Indian, in bare feet, shirt sleeves,
skin trowsers, and nearly as dark as an African. He was enjoying his
leisure by a literary conversation with the schoolmaster, who was his
secretary, and the two were discovered in the midst of a host of ragged
boys from eight to sixteen years old, seated on benches and learning their
letters. The moment we appeared, the Alcalde rose to receive us with great
dignity, and handing the passport to his secretary, he listened attentively

192 MEXICO.
while he heard that Mr.  and Mr.  , of the Diplomatic Corps,
were fully authorized by the Supreme Government to travel wheresoever
they pleased without let, hindrance, or molestation from any of the
good citizens of the Mexican Republic. When the secretary had con-
eluded the document, and the Alcalde had looked at it — upside down 
and they had examined the signature of Vieyra and Bocanegra, and ex-
pressed themselves perfectly satisfied of their genuineness, they retired
to a corner for consultation.
" The Senores," said the Alcalde?, turning to me, " wish to see the cav
ern, and they have permission from the Alcaldes and Chiefs in Mexico
to go where they please ; — this is true ; but that liberty does not refer
to the Cave of Cacahuawamilpa, which is under ground, while the pass.
port relates only to what is above ! The Senores must have a license from
the prefect here, and, moreover, they- must pay for it."
I told him that the Diplomatic Corps never paid for any such permis
sions. He shrugged his shoulders and said that might be, and no doubt
was all very true in the city of Mexico, but that it was not the custom
here ; " los diplomaticos must fare like other people and pay for a license."
I thought of Stephens and his " broad seal ;" and I produced my pass
port from the Department of State with the coat of arms of the United
States, and the signature of Mr. Webster ; but it was all Hebrew to the
scribe ; the eagle was not the Mexican eagle, and " Webastair," he had
never heard of. He shook his forefinger from right to left, as if inti
mating that it was all a humbug, and that no such man was ever known in
Mexico. They were old stagers in the matters of fees, and strangers did
not drop down on such visits every day of the year !
While this by-scene was going on, the school exercises were, of course,
suspended, and the pupils, with staring eyes and gaping mouths, listened
to the discussion. At length, as time was rapidly passing, the Alcalde
was asked how much he wanted, and told that we would give him no ex
travagant sum. He named, I believe, ten dollars as his price, but we
compromised for five — two of which were for the prefect, two for himself,
and one for the secretary. As I was anxious to get the autograph of so
distinguished a functionary, I asked him for a written license ; but he re
plied that it was not necessary. " You may go now," said he; "no one
will molest you ;" and turning to our guide : " The Senores are may ca-
balleros ;" (which may be translated, "very gentlemen") "take care of
them, and at your peril, see that they come back safely."
The secretary made a bow — the Alcalde another — our guide led the
way, and we rejoined our party at the Indian hut, where they had half a
dozen women baking tortillias as fast as they could pat them, for our
breakfast at the cave.
We lost no time, but mounting at once, pushed over a hill Or two until
we reached a small path leading through a corn-field, at the foot of which
ran a clear and narrow rivulet. There we dismounted, and crossing the
hill, the mouth of the cavern was pointed out on the opposite side of the

CAVE OF CACAHUAWAMILPA.

193

glen, half way up the mountain. The dell was filled with tangled vines
and shrubbery, growing up among lofty trees that sprung amid the rocks
and debris of the hill-side. The path to the bottom of it was steep, and
so covered with tall grass and bushes that it became necessary to send an
Indian with a machete to cut a path.
On reaching the stream at the foot of the opposite side, the glen was
found to be quite as tangled, and an Indian was again dispatched to clear
the way. As he cut, we climbed after each other, slowly and painfully
over the sharp and rugged rocks. When near tlie top, however, and in
sight of the entrance, a tall shelf of rock, slanting at a sharp angle with
the hill, opposed itself to our farther progress. It was about four yards
wide — below it the precipice plunged down almost perpendicularly for
two hundred feet, while there was nothing to grasp but the bare surface
of the rock, and a few threads of vines that grew from the fissures of the
impending cliff. A ledge of about three inches had been chipped in this
rock, along which it was necessary to pass. The barefooted Indians
crossed as nimbly as cats, and those of our party who wore shoes fol
lowed with ease ; but I, in a pair of water-proof, thick-soled boots, and
with not the steadiest head over steep places, found the transit exceedingly
difficult. I hung on, however, by the vines, and succeeded in crossing
in a very lubberly. manner.
The Indian women with our tortillias, and the detachment we had dis
patched in the morning with our cold ham, beef and sardines, had already
arrived. There was a huge rock with a flat surface, upon which we
spread our viands — fruit, cocoanuts, and pines — and made as picturesque
a breakfast table as ever was longed for by a pic-nic party within a hun
dred miles of London.

CAVERN OF CACAHUAWAMILPA.
I was one of the last to leave the entrance of the cave, which hangs in
a huge arch of sixty feet span, fringed with a curtain of vines and trop
ical plants. Our party preceded me for some distance along the road
that descends rapidly for the first hundred yards. Each one of the
guides, Indians, and travellers, carried a light; and when I saw the
swarthy crew, with their savage features, long hair, and outlandish dress,
disappearing gradually, until nothing was left but the dot-like glimmer of
their torches in the distance, it seemed more like some spectacle of witch
craft in melodrama, than an actual scene occurring among folks on earth.
I lit my torch and followed.
The first hundred yards brings you to the bottom of the cavern, and,
if not warned in time, you are likely to plunge at this season of the year,
up to your knees in the water. You cross a small lake, and immedi
13

194 MEXICO.
ately before you, under the vast Gothic vault of the cave, rises a lofty
stalagmite pillar with a fringe falling from the top of it, formed of the
brightest foam, congealed in a moment. A mimic pulpit springs from
the wall, covered with elaborate tracery, — and, hard by, an altar is
spread with the fairest napkins, while, above it, depends a crystal curtain
hanging in easy folds, each one of which flashes back the light of your
torch as if carved from silver.
We fastened the end of our twine to a pillar of the altar, and struck
out westwardly, in the direction of the cavern. After a short distance we
turned slightly to the south, and passing down a pile of rocks that had
fallen from the roof, entered the second chamber.
In the centre of this, a huge stalagmite has been formed. We called it
the Tower of Babel. It is a lofty mass, two hundred feet in circum
ference, surrounded, from top to bottom, by rings of fountain-basins
hanging from its sides, each wider than the other, and carved by the
action of water into as beautiful shapes as if cut by the hand of a
sculptor. An Indian climbed to the top of it, and firing a blue-light, illu
minated the whole cavern. By the bright, unearthly blaze, every nook
and comer became visible, and the waters and carving of the fountain-
tower stood out in wonderful relief.
We penetrated to the third chamber. Here there was no centre column
but the effect was produced by the immensity of the vault. It appears as
though you might set the whole of St. Peter's beneath it, with dome and
cross. It is a magnificent cathedral ; the wall sheeted with stalactites,
and the floor meandered by those arabesque troughs of pure white, and
antique pattern, which we had seen at the Tower of Babel.
An Indian fired a rocket, which exploded as it struck the top of the im
mense dome, and amid the falling stars, the detonation reverberated from
side to side of the immense vault with the roar of a cannonade. A sheet
of stalactite was struck, and it sounded with the clearness of a bell. Four
Roman candles were lighted and placed on rocks midway up the temple
sides, and they shed a faint illumination, like the twilight stealing through
the fretted windows of an old cathedral.
Beyond this chamber was a narrow path between the almost perpen
dicular rocks, and, as we passed, the guide crept through an entrance near
the floor, and holding his torch aloft, (so that the light fell as from an
invisible source,) displayed a delicious little cave, arched with snowy
stalactites. In the middle rose a centre-table, covered with its fringed
folds, and adorned with goblin nicknacks. It was the boudoir of some
gnome or coquettish fairy !
Two rocks standing beyond this retreat, are the portals of another cham
ber, groined, like the rest, in Gothic arches with the tracery of purest sta
lactites, while its floor is paved all over with beautiful little globular
stalagmites. In a corner fountain, we found the skeleton head of a serpent,
The path beyond this is nearly blocked up by immense masses that
have fallen from the roof. Passing over these, you attain another vaulted

CAVE OF CACAHUAWAMILPA. 195
cathedral, bright as the rest with flashing stalactites, while its floor is
covered knee-deep with water. The dark lake, lit up by the blaze of a
dozen blue-lights and Roman candles, and reflecting the flashing walls
of the cavern, the torches of the party, and the tribe of attendant In
dians — would have made a picture for Martin.
We had now penetrated nearly five thousand feet in the interior of the
earth, and the guides said that the chambers were still innumerable be
yond. Persons have slept here and gone on the next day, but no termi
nation has yet been discovered. Some years since, in exploring beyond
the usual limits, a party of travellers discovered the skeleton of a man ;
his bones were white and dry, and the Indian guides, after placing them in
a heap, erected a cross on the top of it, with which they consecrated the
whole cavern as the grave of the unknown dead. Whether he was a
lost traveller, an absconding debtor, a suicidal lover, or a wretched mur
derer seeking concealment from vindictive pursuers, no one can tell !
From this chamber we returned to the entrance by the clew of our
twine. I scarcely remember anything so beautiful as the view, when we
caught the first glimpse of daylight, shining, like a " gray dawn," through
the green drapery of vines that mantled the mouth of the cavern and re
flected on the lake-like pool.

We returned to the foot of the hills, where we found our servants and
horses, and refreshed ourselves from the fatigue produced by the incessant
exercise and exertions of the last three hours. Retreating through the
glen to Don Miguel's rancho, and paying him liberally for his entertain
ment, we bade farewell to this part of Mexico, and turned our faces
eastward. We were obliged to return to-night to the village of Tetecala, and as
the afternoon was already far advanced, we obtained a guide who knew a
nearer cut over the mountain, than the road by which we reached the
rancho on yesterday.
Night came upon us before we had half finished our journey, and I
know no more of the road from actual observation. It was pitchy dark,
and there were a number of ravines and barrancas to pass ; but such
is the unerring sure-footedness of animals of Mexico, that I reined my
horse as near the guide as I could conveniently get, and. followed the
lead of his sagacious mule. From the manner in which the beasts climbed
and slid over rocks, in the utter darkness, I have no doubt that the path
was beset with many perils. After passing the mountain, we had to swim
a river near thirty yards wide, which was considerably swollen by the late
rains, so that, what with fatigue and danger, I was glad enough to reach our
destination ; where the first salute from our entertainers, when they heard
13*

196 MEXICO.
that we had made a night-march over the mountain, was, " Thank God,
there were no accidents !"
A smoking supper was soon on the table, and although our worthy
hosts (who had not made a journey that day of near two thousand varas
into the bowels of the earth,) were exceedingly anxious to prolong the chat
after our cheerful meal, we slipped off, one by one, to our cots and sofas.
We have travelled seven leagues to-day, besides our pedestrian excursion
in the cave.

HACIENDA OF SAN NICOLAS.

23rd September. We left Tetecala this morning at eight o'clock, with
the intention of passing to-night at the hacienda of St. Nicolas, which
belongs to the Messrs. J  . For the present at least we seem to have
done with the mountains, as our road to-day lay entirely over the plain.
During the three last days, we have 'been wandering among gigantic
mountains and over wild moors, where the solitude of nature reigns in
all its majesty; but the picture varies in the direction of Cuatjtla. The
mountains sink into the plain, and the plain is rich, fertile, and cultivated
with the nicest economy.
About twelve o'clock we saw the hacienda lying in the distance, in the
lap of the plain, with a small hill or two hard by, just large enough to
vary the scenery. As we approached the white walled buildings, we
could not help remarking the uncommonly neat appearance of everything
about the estate. The sugar-fields were in capital order, the roads smooth,
the fences had been put up, the cattle were under the care of men. The
Indian village, inhabited by many of the laborers on the estate, was tidy
and comfortable, and there was a cleanness and decency in the appear
ance of the people, that I had not seen elsewhere. Indeed, the whole view
of this plain, hemmed in by the distant summits of the mountains, reminded
me strongly of some of the pictures of rural beauty constantly presented
to the traveller in New England ; and I was the more forcibly struck with
this, when I looked from the corridor of the hacienda over the whole ex
panse of country, and saw it dotted here and there with villages and
haciendas, the white towers of whose chapels rose up beautifully from an
unbroken mass of verdure.
We were received at this plantation by the administrador, or steward,
who had been expecting us for an hour or more ; and though he had already
partaken of his dinner, (believing that we did not intend visiting St. Nicolas
to-day,) he immediately ordered another, in the meantime showing us to
a large and cool apartment, containing a number of beds, where we made
a hasty toilet.
We took a siesta after dinner, and then walked with Don A. over the
estate. The whole of the fields are planted with cane for a great dis-

NATIVE MUSICIANS. 197
tance around the house, which forms, by itself, a very extensive establish
ment. First, there is the dwelling, a large two-story edifice, having in the
basement all the offices, and the store where every necessary is sold tc
the Indians ; above this are the kitchens, parlors, bedrooms, and an im
mense corridor on arches, looking toward the east, filled with caged birds,
and hung with hammocks, where the family pass most of the long warm
days of summer. In front is the corral, on the west of which are the
store-houses and buildings to receive the crop ; while on the east is another
huge edifice where the boilers, engines, crushing machines, cooling vats,
moulding apartments, &c, constitute the trapiche of the hacienda. It is
a little city in itself.
At sunset, all the Indians employed on the premises assembled under
the corridor on the basement floor, to account to the administrador for their
day's labor and their presence. As he called their names, each one re
plied with " Alabo a Dios," — " I praise God," and ranged himself against
the wall in a line with those who had already responded. When the whole
list had been examined, they were dismissed, and departed in a body sing
ing an Indian hymn to the Virgin, the sounds of which died away in the
distance as they plodded home over the level fields to their village.
At night we heard the sound of a clarionet, bass-drum, and flute, at
some distance from the dwelling, and on inquiry, discovered that a band
of musicians had been organized in an adjoining village, by the owner of
the hacienda. We mustered a company and strolled over. The whole
of a large hut had been appropriated for a musical hall, where the per
formers were just assembling; while others, who had already arrived,
were engaged in tuning their instruments. The leader was quite a re
spectable-looking Indian, decently dressed, who played the violin ; the
clarionet player was fortunate in the possession of cotton drawers and a
shirt; the bassoon had a pair of drawers but no shirit ; the serpent was
the wildest looking Indian I ever saw, with long dishevelled black hair,
and eyes worthy of his instrument ; the big drum was a huge portly old
negro, who reminded me of many of our performers on it at home ; while
the octave flute was an urchin of not more than twelve, the wickedest
little devil imaginable, but a fellow of infinite talent and a capital per
former. The night was rather too hot to permit us to remain long in the apart
ment with an Indian crowd ; we therefore took our seats outside, where
we were favored by the self-taught amateurs with several airs from re
cent operas, performed in a style that would not have injured the reputa
tion of many a military band at home.
It may reasonably be argued, from a scene like this, that the Indians
have talents for one of the arts requiring a high degree of natural deli
cacy and refinement. If it had been the care of all Spanish proprietors
gradually to bring forth their latent dispositions, as the Senores J. have
done, Mexico would now present a picture very different from that of the

198 MEXICO.
degradation which fills its valleys with a slothful, ignorant, and debased
multitude.

When we returned to the house, we found that some travellers who
passed in the course of the day, had given an account of robbers on the
road we are to travel to-morrow. About two weeks since, seven armed
and mounted ruffians attacked two Frenchmen and their servants near
the hacienda of Trenta. One of the Frenchmen was severely wounded,
but the other, aided by the two mosos, succeeded in beating off the rob
bers, who left one of their number dead on the field, and his horse and
trappings as spoils for the victor.

CUAUTLA DE AMILPAS AND HACIENDA DE ST. INEZ.
24th September. We left the hospitable hacienda of San Nicolas at
4 o'clock this morning, and passed through a great number of Indian
villages, and some haciendas of considerable extent, especially that of
Trenta, which derives its name from the fact that it was originally pur
chased for the sum of thirty dollars. With its village, its church, (nearly
a cathedral in size,) its immense sugar works and princely domain, I
suppose it could not be acquired now for much less than half a million.
After enjoying a fine view of the volcano of Popocatepetl at sunrise,
and passing the village of Tlaltisappan, we struck into the mountain gorges
which we had been for some time approaching. The ground gradually
rose, the glens and defiles became more numerous, and among the wild
and tangled forests of these solitary mountains we passed many ill look
ing wretches, armed and mounted, but always in too small a number to
attack our party. There is no doubt they were robbers, as several had
their faces partly disguised, while their weapons were cocked and resting
in their hands as they passed us. We cocked ours, also, and thus moved
on fairly quits with the vagabonds.
On the sides of these mountains, there were continuous groves of that
tall pillar-like species of the cactus, which is called " organos."
The heat became insufferable toward noon, and I felt, for the first time,
weary of our journey among the lonely hills and defiles. Our impa.
tience to reach Cuautla was increased by the accounts of the Indians
we encountered on the road, who invariably added a league or half league
to the distance as we advanced. At length, however, after passing through
a very extensive corn-field, which I computed to contain at least five hun
dred acres, we reached the valley of Amilpas, and, in half an hour more,
entered an Indian village bowered in the foliage of bananas and palms,
through the midst of which ran a cool and sparkling streamlet. Here

INN AT CUAUTLA.

199

we halted to refresh ourselves, as the sun was blistering our skins "and we
burned with a fever that was scarcely mitigated by profuse perspiration.
After leaving this village, Cuautla appeared immediately on our left, with .
a rapid river running by it ; while, in front, was the stately hacienda
of Cuauwistla, belonging to the Dominican monks of Mexico, from the
revenues of which a liberal sum is annually set apart for the entertain
ment of travellers.
By some accident, the chief of our party had neglected to obtain a
letter of introduction to any of the haciendas in the neighborhood of
Cuautla, and we expected to procure comfortable accommodations at the
inn of the town. We therefore pressed onward, without stopping at
Cuauwistla, where, I had no doubt, the general letter of introduction with
which I had been favored by the Archbishop of the United States to all
the Church in Mexico, would have procured us an immediate welcome.
Cuautla is a perfect Southern city. The houses are small and airy ;
clear water gurgles through the middle of the street ; broad-leaved trees
fling their branches over the low dwellings. The women loll, half-dressed,
in the windows and doors, gazing at nothing or each other ; the men
seem to have as little to do as the women, and the whole has an air of the
" dolce far niente," which prevails in this mild and tempting climate.
Passing through the square, we entered a bye-street and arrived at the
door of the meson.
I remembered immediately my experience at Perote, and the account
given by Latrobe of his experience at this very inn.
The gate of the court-yard was thrown open for us. In front lay a
narrow lane, on one side of which was a shed, and beneath it a couple
of sheep munching a stack of green corn in a corner, while a couple of
turkeys picked up what they could find. On the roof a lot of sheep
skins, recently taken from the animal, were spread out to dry in the sun.
At the end of the lane was the kitchen of the meson, which seemed also
to be the cobbler's stall of the burly landlord ; who, tucking up his apron
in front, ran out to salute us before we dismounted, followed by his stout
wife, and a greasy scullion as fat, dirty, and disgusting as Maritornes.
We inquired if he could "accommodate us?" "Si Senores, si Se
nores !" said he, with a strong emphasis on the si, as if surprised at our
even doubting for an instant the capabilities of his establishment.
It will be remembered that we now numbered twelve in the party.
We asked him (still without dismounting) to show us the rooms.
From the end of the lane I have described, another struck off at right-
angles with it, and both of its sides were adorned with a row of one-story
windowless cabins, over the doors of which appeared, in true hotel fash
ion, the numbers 1. — 2. — 3. — 4. — 5. — 6.

200 MEXICO.
G  got down to examine, and the landlord led the way. He first
opened No. 3. It was eight feet long, about six wide, and ten high ; in
one corner lay a pool of mud on the earthen floor, and the walls were
literally black with fleas. G  at once objected to this, and the landlord
said that it was of course not intended for the Senores, but for the baggage
and the mosos. He had " another, more comfortable " for ourselves; and
stepping across the street, opened No. 6, which, from its exterior, appeared
to be of the same size of No. 3. Scarcely had he turned the bolt — when
out walked a full grown ass !
But our discontent did not satisfy the landlord — he did not see why we
could not be " accommodated in rooms that were good enough for other
folks — and we might praise the Virgin if we got better in Cuautla !"
There was no time for discussion, however, and as we were hungry,
and would rather betake ourselves to the fields and sleep under the trees
than submit to the vermin of Cuautla, I proposed that we should return
to Cuauwistla. In the meantime, however, Don Juan Black had be
thought him of all his friends in the village, and discovered that the
administrador of Santa Inez, was an old acquaintance who had often
requested a visit in his journeys to the tierra caliente.
It is true that we made a formidable party, with horses and mules, be
sides our own ravenous appetites ; but Black insisted that he knew the
people of the country, and that we would undoubtedly be welcome at the
neighboring plantation.
He was, therefore, at once put at the head of the troop ; and we
marched out of the court-yard under a shower of abuse from the cob
bling host — as a set of " caprichosos Ingleses, who deserved to rot on the
road-side." His spouse and Maritomes fell into their parts of the denun
ciatory trio, as the hoof of the last horse struck his abominable gate-sill.

The hacienda of Santa Inez is situated in the midst of sugar-fields to
the north of the town, and the works, residence, chapel, and Indian vil
lage, are bordered by a beautiful stream among some of the finest forest
trees I have seen in the Republic. I shall never forget the kind reception
of Don Filipe Vargas ; — it was that of a tried old friend. Ample accom
modations and beds were offered us ; a meal (which, in apologizing for,
he called a " penetencia,") was quickly spread on snowy damask, served
with a fine display of silver and excellent claret ; and the whole was sea
soned with a welcome that will mark Don Filipe in my memory, as a
man to be trusted in times of difficulty.

It was Saturday evening, and after a walk in the charming groves that
border the brook and Indian village, from which there was a noble pros-

INDIAN DEGRADATION. 201
pect of the whole of Popocatepetl, with the sunset tinging its snows, we
returned to the hacienda and took seats in the lower court, near the office
where the clerk of the administrador was paying off the hands for their
week's work. Here chocolate was handed us, served in the same tasteful
style as our dinner.
The hands were all mustered, and came up with the usual "Alabo a
Dios !" to receive their weekly wages, as on last evening at San
Nicolas. Don Filipe informs me, that all the ordinary expenses of this estate are
$500 per week ; but during the working season they rise frequently to
$1200. Three hundred laborers are usually employed at two and a half
to three reals a day, and the total production of the hacienda is about
40,000 loaves annually — the loaves averaging twenty-three pounds — or,
in all, 920,000 pounds of refined sugar. Here, as elsewhere, the mo
lasses nearly pays the expenses.
He complains greatly of the worthlessness of the Indians, and expresses
hopes of improvement from the establishment of schools in Cuautla, where
the young children learn rapidly, if they are allowed by their intemperate
and gambling parents to continue in their classes. He alleges, that the
greatest punishment for the Indians is to discharge and expel them entirely
from the estate upon which they and their ancestors, from time immemo
rial, have worked ; but he intimates that other punishments are resorted
to for trifling faults and excesses, and I doubt not the whip is made to play
an important part in the discipline of Mexican plantations.
Mr. Stephens, in his last work on Yucatan, gives a scene of this sort
which he witnessed. "Looking into the corridor," he says, "we saw the
poor Indian on his knees on the pavement, with his arms clasped around
the knees of another Indian, so as to present his back fairly to the lash.
At every blow he rose on one knee, and sent forth a piercing cry. He
seemed struggling to retain it, but it burst forth in spite of all his efforts.
His whole bearing showed the subdued character of the present Indians,
and with the last stripe the expression of his face seemed that of thank
fulness for not getting more. Without uttering a word, he crept to the
major domo, took his hand, kissed it, and walked away. No sense of
degradation crossed his mind. Indeed, so humbled is this once fierce
people, that they have a proverb of their own : ' Los Indios no oigan sino
por las nalgas' — the Indians only hear through their backs."
In what then is this Indian population, throughout the planting, farming
and mining districts, equal to our slaves ? Although not hereditary prop
erty by law, they are hereditary by custom, and the force of those circum
stances which deny them the opportunity of bettering their condition, either
by emigration to foreign countries, or by diffusing themselves over their
own. They form a degraded caste. They are subjected to the control
of masters and overseers, and although it is true that they are regularly
paid for their labor and habitual degradation, yet they are ignorant, gam
bling, intemperate, and liable at any moment to be submitted to the lash,

202 MEXICO.
against which, they have not the courage to offer the slightest resist-
ance. With all the boast, therefore, of the authorities of Mexico, that no
man is held in bondage within its limits, I still think that no candid person
can inspect the condition of these laborers, without giving the palm to our
negroes, — and exclaiming, indignantly, at the masked slavery which is
carried on from year to year, without the slightest prospect of ameliorating
the character or condition of the miserable natives.
If a man become slave by descent, under the well-established laws
of a nation by which the institution is recognized, he has always a
master, whose duty it is to afford him food, raiment and protection, in
recompense for his toil ; and although moralists may say that slavery is in
its very nature deteriorating, yet it does not crush the very spirit from the
negro, or tend always to his debasement. He is sober ; he cares for his
family ; he feels the duties of the social relations, even in his " quarter ;"
and is ambitious of the degree of respectability he may acquire among his
fellow slaves. His condition must, therefore, both physically and intellec
tually, be superior to that of the Indian who becomes a slave, in spite
of the law, by the servility of his character and the loathsome vices that
absorb his earnings, without a care for the comfort of his family, the edu
cation of his children, or even the personal appearance he presents among
his fellows.
When we remember the degree of civilization that had been attained
by these races, anterior to the Mexican conquest, it is impossible to believe
that their present debasement is to be alone attributed to an enervating
climate ; nor can Mexico ever claim a high standing among nations, until
she blots this stain of hypocritical freedom from the fairest portions of her
territory. With the improvement of the lot and character of her Indians,
(who number near four millions of the seven that compose her whole popu
lation,) the steady advancement of the nation will proceed ; but until that
occurs, her fondest admirers can have but little hope, either for her pro
gress or even for her continuance as a nation.

# # * * *
# # * * #
# # # * #

Senor Vargas, with true Mexican hospitality, had an excellent supper
prepared for us at nine o'clock ; but I was too much fatigued to partake
of it, and retired to most comfortable quarters, having a bed entirely to
myself, which I mention as a luxury-

TOWN OF CUAUTLA.

CUAUTLA.

203

25th September. The next morning was Sunday. We arose early and
went to the town of Cuautla, passing great numbers of Indians with half-
shaved heads, on their way to the Sunday market, where they usually
assemble in the Plaza to purchase and sell their commodities. As we
reached the town, the bells were ringing for mass, and we strolled into sev
eral of the churches. One of them was being repaired, and the altars were
filled with skulls and bones that had been taken up while the floor was
undergoing the requisite renovation. In the parroquia or parish church,
the stench from the dead bodies beneath the rough boards over which we
trod, was so abominable that I hastened out of it, without examining some
figures of Saints and Apostles done up in dresses that resembled very
much the antique uniforms of the eighteenth century. Such anachronisms
however are of frequent occurrence, and I have before alluded to them,
in the instance where even our Saviour was represented in one of the
most splendid churches of Mexico, in a blue velvet robe and a Guyaquil
sombrero !
In the square, there were hundreds of Indians under cane booths, on
mats spread with fruits, skins, rebosos, serapes, ices, orgeats, lemonade,
vegetables, flowers, and all the varied products of the tierra caliente.
I stepped into one and breakfasted on oranges, sponge cake and iced milk.
The stores around the square were all open, and indeed I saw no cessa
tion of the usual week-day occupations, except among the Indians, who
thronged the Plaza. The women, as on yesterday, lolled in the broad
window-sills ; the men lolled opposite them, or leaned against the walls
in the shade — and the excessive heat seemed to have predisposed every
one, before ten o'clock, to a doze or a siesta.
In one of the stores (while Don Juan was bargaining for a horse,) the
owner showed me a centipede of the tierra caliente, a horrible reptile of the
scorpion kind, with which he says the old houses of Cuautla are infested.
These and the alacranes (a sort of cross of the spider on the scorpion,) are
the scourges of the warm country, and the bite of both frequently results
in the extreme illness of adults, and the death of children.
As we were leaving the square, we met the cobbler landlord of the
Cuautla inn. He was stumping along, with his apron rolled up, as on
yesterday ; — he bit his lip and shook his head, as much as to say, " Let me
ever catch you out on the hills, alone, old fellows !"

We returned to the hacienda of St. Inez about noon, where a sump
tuous breakfast awaited us. After partaking of it, and bidding a most

204 MEXICO.
reluctant farewell to our kind entertainer, we mounted and turned our
faces northward, toward our home.
A wide plain skirts the foot of the sierra that hems in the Valley of
Mexico, and runs from the valley of Cuautla into that of Puebla. Over
it lay our road this afternoon, and after passing one of those strange and
deep barrancas, down which plunged a cascade of clear water for some
two hundred feet, we commenced the ascent of the range of mountains
forming the last barrier between us and the Capital.
Scarcely had we mounted the hills, when it began to rain, for the first
time during the day since we left Cuemavaca, and I experienced imme
diately a remarkable change in the temperature, from the scorching heat
in the square of Cuautla. Our serapes were at once put on, and we wore
them for the rest of the evening.
Santa Inez is on the limit of the tierra caliente ; — at five or six miles
distance the culture of the sugar cane ceases, and the tierra templada
commences. We passed the beautiful Indian village of Acaclauca, with its green
leaves, chapels, and churches, in front of one of which I saw the last tall
group of palm-trees, standing out with their feathery branches relieved
•against the snow of Popocatepetl. It was a strange picture, mingling in
one frame the tropic and the pole.
Near eight o'clock the distant barking of dogs announced our approach
to the village where we designed resting until morning. Small fires
were lighted before each door, and by their light we meandered through
half a dozen crooked and hilly streets before we reached the house of the
worthy Don Juan Gonzales, (an old friend of the Consul,) who, at a mo
ment's notice, received us under his hospitable roof.
Don Juan is a man " well to do " in the world of his little village ; — he
keeps store,' rents a room to a club of village folks, who like a drop of
aguardiente or a quiet game of monU ; and, above all, has the loveliest
girl in the tierra templada for a daughter.
Don Juan ushered us ceremoniously into his long, low, back parlor.
In one corner stood a picture of the Virgin with a lamp burning before it,
while opposite was a table around which were gathered five of the neigh
bors in shirt sleeves, slouched hats, and beards of a week's growth, busy
with a game of greasy cards, in the light of a dim "tallow." Ever and
anon, the little sylph of a daughter brought in the liquor for the boors.
It was Titania and Bottom — Ariel and the Clown ; — and I longed for the
pencil of Caravaggio to sketch the gamblers, or of Retzsch to embody the
whole spirit of the scene.
After a frugal supper of tortillias and chocolate, we retired to feather
beds and clean sheets on the floor, — but I was glad when we were called
to horse at three in the morning. It had been a night of sore encounter;
an army of fleas attacked us, the moment we retired, with a vigor and
earnestness that did justice both to their appetite and our blood.

INNATTENANGO. 2Q5

AYOTLA.
26th September. We were off at half-past three, by the moonlight of a
cold and frosty morning, and at the first streak of day found that we were
winding high up the spur of hills that juts out from the sides of Popoca
tepetl, which was in full view, with the clouds rolling off from its lofty
head as the sun rose.
Behind us, for near twenty leagues, the tierra caliente extended dis
tinctly until the view was bounded by a bold and craggy sierra. We
wound upward through the hill farms, hanging against the sides of the
mountains, and among the pine forests, through whose branches a cold
autumn wind was whistling. The road was lined with crosses, many
of them recently erected, and hung with garlands and flowers ; — it is a
dangerous pass and infested by hordes of robbers, who attack the travel
lers either passing from Cuautla to the Valley of Mexico or returning
with the proceeds of their sales.
Beyond the village of Hoochietipec we lost sight both of the plain of
Cuautla and the tierra caliente, and soon afterward the Valley of Mexico
appeared to the west.
At Tenamgo we stopped for breakfast and to wait for Pedro, who had
been missing for the last two hours, having lingered behind with a lame
horse. Our inn was a small rat hole of a meson for muleteers, with a corral of
a couple of acres ; but the whole establishment bore the sounding name
of the " Purissima Sangre de Christo ! "
We found, to our sorrow, that we were no longer in the land of rich
haciendas and hospitable administradors. The old song of "no hai!"
had recommenced. Tortillias, chile, molle, pan, pulque, agua ? — " no
hai." With a little coaxing, however, we got one of the women of the
house to seek out the remnant of corn from their breakfast, which was
soon ground into tortillias. As we were beginning to devour them, Don
Juan espied an Indian bearing a couple of earthen jugs of milk, with
one of which and our leathery cakes, we managed to stay our stomachs
till dinner. Pedro had not yet come up with us, and as it was decided
to wait for him, I laid down on a rock' at the door of the meson and slept
soundly. After an hour's delay, during which the servant did not appear, and
presuming that he might have passed by some other road (as he was well
acquainted with this part of the country,) we again mounted, and descend
ing by a series of inclined planes, speedily reached the level of the plain
of Mexico.
This valley is exceedingly different from the tierra caliente. Although
the temperature is milder, yet everything is dry, parched, withered and
volcanic. The hill-sides and mountains are stripped of their forests — the

206 MEXICO.
fields are arid — the grain small and unproductive — and the whole has a
waste and moor-like appearance. The Indians seem even dirtier, if pos
sible, than those we have left behind us, and the patient mules travel over
the long and dreary sands as if in a new Arabia.
Passing through several mud-walled villages, we came at length upon
the Vera Cruz road and reached the town of Ayotla, seven leagues from
Mexico, about four in the afternoon. Here we found Pedro waiting for
us at the door of the inn, having passed through the village of Tenango
while we were enjoying our tortillias and milk within doors.

We rest here during part of to-night, and to-morrow at daylight we
intend to reach home, after a journey of just three hundred miles on
horseback, without robbery, accident or illness.
There are .no beds for us to-night, so I shall stretch myself on the floor
with my saddle-bags for a pillow. How relative are all our comforts,
or ideas of comfort ! If a man is really hungry he can eat unbuttered
bread. If a man is really sleepy he can repose on a floor, and the hard
ness of the planks will never wake him. We begin life by finding noth
ing soft enough but our mother's bosom — we go on to the cradle — we rise
to the crib — we aspire to the cot — and, at last, arrive at the dignity of a
French bedstead with mattress and tambour ! We think we never can
sleep out of this last extreme of modern comfort — and, scarcely even out
of " our own." Yet nothing is easier. I commenced this journey, little
more than a week ago, by sleeping on a sacking-bottom — and, after going
through all the variations of tressels, canes, beds, cots, and hammock, at
last came down to the floor and my saddle-bags, where I slept just as
soundly and refreshingly.
Yet I. would recommend every one who is about to travel through the
tierra caliente, to procure a hammock of Sisal grass. With this, he is
entirely his own master ; and surely no mode of sleeping is more luxuri
ous in a hot climate. You swing it from the rafters of the room — it is
above the floor, clear of the walls and free from insects — it bends to each
motion of the body, fitting neatly to every part of your frame — you set it
in motion, and while it swings you to sleep, it fans and refreshes by its
gentle waving through the air.

Besides the beautiful scenery through which I have passed during this
journey, nothing has impressed me so favorably as the unaffected hospi
tality we met with everywhere, whether we came introduced or not. The
old phrase " Mi casa, Senor, esta muy a su disposicion :" "My house is
entirely at your service," was not a phrase of course — a mere formula to
be gone through and forgotten. Their houses, their animals, their serv-

BURIAL OF SANTA ANNA'S LEG. 207
ants and themselves were all at our command, and with a cordiality that
forbad the idea of an arriere pens£e.
Living in the country, at a distance from large towns, with but little
literature and few and irregularly received newspapers, the haciendados
and their administradors are glad to welcome the traveller as a guest to
their doors. With ample means of accommodation and entertainment,
they enjoy as well as confer a favor, and are as thankful for your visit,
as you are to them for their repasts and attentions. You feel that the
account is fairly balanced, and that the other little elegancies and assidui
ties which are thrown in for your comfort are the result of genuine hospi
tality, and the promptings of excellent hearts. They are noble, liberal,
generous gentlefolks ; and I hope again to travel in the tierra caliente,
and meet a few Senor Sylvas, Don Antonios, and Don Filipes.

HOME.
21th September. We left Ayotla at half-past two this morning, and
arrived at the city gates just after sunrise, as the cannons were firing in
honor of the day which is to be celebrated by the "entombment of ihe re
mains of Santa Anna's leg that was shot off at ihe battle of Vera Cruz in
1838 !"

The principal streets- were covered with an awning ; the military came
out in all their finery ; the chief functionaries of the Government united
in the procession ; and thus, the limb of the President — cut off in 1838 —
buried since then at Vera Cruz — disinterred and brought to the Capital in
1842 — and now, laid in a crystal vase — was borne to the cemetery of
Santa Paula, where it was deposited in a monument erected to receive
it by the Commissary-general of the Mexican army !
A solemn eulogium (on the President — not the leg) was then pro
nounced by Seiior Sierra y Rosa, and the ceremonies in honor of the
precious relic were concluded.
A caustic "Protest of the dead bodies of the cemetery against ihe recep
tion of the limb among them," — was soon afterward found on an adjacent
tomb.

LETTER XXIV.
ACCOUNT OE AN ASCENT TO THE SUMMIT OF THE VOLCANO OF POPOCATEPETL.

INTERIOR OI THE CRATER OP POPOCATEPETL.
It is impossible to cast your eyes eastwardly over the plain, without
havino- their view bounded by the lofty peaks of Popocatepetl- (M
smokZig mountain," and its neighbor Iztaccihuatl-or "the ¦ wh ^. — <
lifting their snowy heads far above the level of the wall-like sien a tha
hems in the Valley of Mexico. I had ardently longed to climb one ol
these mountains to survey the adjacent plains from its craggy crater,
but I was constantly doomed to disappointment. Several parties Uiat
were made up failed at the fixed time, and the rainy season coming

ASCENT OF POPOCATEPETL. 209
on, I was forced to abandon the enterprise entirely. In the course, how
ever, of my preparations for an ascent, I had enjoyed frequent conversa
tions with Mr. Egerton, and Mr. Von Gerolt, the Prussian Charge d'Affaires,
on the subject; and by these gentlemen (who have both ascended the
volcano,) I was put in possession of the preceding drawing and the sub
stance of the following account, which has hitherto never been given in
our language. As I think it extremely interesting, when compared with
the various published accounts of the ascent of Mont Blanc and other
mountains in the Old and New World, I shall make no apology for pre
senting it to you in this volume. The volcano lies about 60 miles from
the city of Mexico, and, after Chimborazo, is the highest peak on this
continent. At the commencement of the rainy season of 1833, Mr. Von Gerolt and
the Baron Gros, then Charge of the French Legation in Mexico, departed
from the Capital on horseback, escorted by a troop of soldiers to protect
them from robbers, and followed by mules and servants bearing the neces
sary philosophical instruments and sufficient provisions for the journey.
They sallied forth on the Vera Cruz road, between the lakes of Tez
coco and Chalco, for eight leagues, to Ayotla — beyond which they struck
off in a southwardly direction, and, at the distance of five leagues more,
commenced the ascent of the Cordillera, on the summit of which a table
land is spread out about 800 feet above the level of the city. On this
plain they passed the villages of Ameca and Ozumba at the foot of the
volcano and its neighboring mountain, and here they found the first signs
of those immense barrancas or deep ravines, worn into the steeps by the
melting of snow for centuries.
The southern slope of Popocatepetl appeared to offer our travellers the
easiest ascent, and, accordingly, having obtained three Indian guides from
the Alcalde, and an escort of two soldiers, for the wilds of the forest, they
set forth on their perilous journey early on the morning of the 22nd
of May. Their way led through a tangled wilderness of plants and trees.
After passing a number of barrancas, the sides of which were covered
with beautiful pines standing out in relief against the bright snows above
them ; and being compelled to cut a way through the matted forest with
their swords and Indian axes, they reached, about noon, the rancho of
Zacapalco. The owner was absent from home, but they found the exten
sive pasturages round his house filled with cattle, and protected by a
guard from the wolves and lions with which the woods are infested. As
there was no one in the dwelling to bid them welcome, they took the lib
erty to help themselves to the grazier's utensils, and dined most comfort
ably at the upland farm. The air was chilly and respiration had already
become difficult.
After their meal they bade farewell to part of their company, and with
the Indians and two servants, continued their upward course on horseback
notwithstanding the increasing heaviness of the sand. In two hours they
14

210

MEXICO.

attained the limit of vegetation, when they saw but a few pines — whose!
gnarled and twisted branches exhibited scarcely a sign of verdure. Some
small singing birds flew by them, and the plants they had observed in
the course of their ascent thus far, are mentioned in the subjoined note.*
At this spot our travellers found a wide desert of black volcanic sand,
covered with fragments of pumice. They were soon warned of approach
ing difficulties. The clouds gathered in thick masses around the top of
the volcano portending a storm ; and, scarcely had they retreated again
to their tent, when it came down on them with all the mercilessness of a
tfopical hurricane. For several hours during the ensuing night the sur
rounding wastes were lit up with incessant flashes of the most brilliant
lightning, shooting from the clouds above and below them, and at times
even streaming horizontally along the wastes of dreary sand, crashing the
branches of the forest and rending the stoutest pines. They seemed en
veloped in flame — yet they had no protection from the fury of this storm
of hail and thunder but a scanty cloth, thrown over the limb of a tree and
pegged to the ground !
Thus passed the night until four o'clock. When day dawned, they
found the mountain covered with snow, and the summit entirely enveloped
in clouds. Nevertheless they resolved to proceed, and, with the greatest
difficulty, prevailed on the Indians to accompany them.
For a league and a half farther, they advanced on horseback, but the
pathway became so deep and yielding in the sand, that they were forced
to dismiss their servants with the animals, and continue with the guides
alone. The toil of ascending on foot now commenced, and they describe
it as one of the most agonizing they ever underwent ; sliding back half
the distance they had made in advance at every footstep, and laboring
with the increased circulation to such a degree that they could scarcely
breathe. Yet they persevered resolutely for several hours, until the ill-
shod Indians, whose feet were cut by the snow and sands, gave out en
tirely, and the Baron and Mr. Von Gerolt were forced to proceed wholly
unattended. It was about this time that the sun broke out from the clouds,
for which (although they disregarded it then,) they paid dearly enough
in the sequel.
At noon, after immense fatigue and exertions, they found themselves at

* Salvia, three species.
Baccharis, Cineraria, four species.
Acacia. two species.
do. do.
do.do.

do.do. do.

Cestrum,Asclepins,Iresine, Arbutus, Eupatonum, do.
Hedyotis,Viburnum,Coreopsis,Myosotis grandiMorn, do.
do. flor. alb. do.
Stacbys, do.

three species.
do. do.

do.

do. do.do.do.

Lobelia, three species .
Stevia, do, do.
Loonia-salvifolia, do. do.
(Enotera, do. do.
fuchsia.Achyrophorus roseus.
Those nearest the limit of vegetation were:
Chelone, gentiano'ides.
Amaryllis, minntn.
Phmlia. CaBtilleja.Lupinus-vaginatus.Kibes, odoratum.
Arenaria bryoides.

ASCENT OF POPOCATEPETL. 211
the steep basaltic rock which is visible from Mexico, sticking like a thorn
out of the volcano's side, and is called the Pico del Fraile — sixteen thou
sand eight hundred and ninety-five feet above the level of the sea — and
apparently but a short distance from the summit of the cone.
Nevertheless, this was doomed to be the limit of their present enterprise.
As soon as they had refreshed themselves by a little repose, they endeav
ored to trace a path upward from the rocks ; but everything was covered
with ice and snow. None of the ravines were bare, as usual at this sea
son, when they are generally traversed by torrents on their way to the
valley. All was a waste of cloud and frost.
In addition to these physical dangers — the day was far advanced ;
there was no place where they could be sheltered, or where they would
not freeze to death during the night if they advanced. They had no food
— and they were already wearied by an eight hours' march in a rarefied
atmosphere. Disagreeable as was the alternative, it was resolved to
retreat to the rancho, which they reached at sunset, suffering the most
excruciating agony in their eyes and faces from the effects of the reflec
tion of the sun from the brilliant snow.
After a night of pain and sleeplessness they returned next morning to
Ozumba, whence they reached the Capital after a delay of a couple
of days.
This unfortunate termination of their enterprise, however, did not dis
hearten them. In the following year they again undertook the ascent,
and were accompanied on that occasion by Mr. Egerton, the distinguished
artist, who was murdered last year at Tacubaya.
On the 28th of April, 1834, they departed early in the morning from
the village of Ozumba, accompanied by three guides, two of whom were
the brothers Paez, their companions of the previous year. They were
now better prepared with comforts and necessaries for their journey, and,
besides, had provided themselves with staves, some fifteen feet in length,
shod with iron, to aid in leaping from rock to rock and steadying them on
the slippery snow.
Reaching the limit of vegetation at three in the afternoon, they pitched
their tents, lighted their camp-fires, and after making out the route for the
next day, passed a few hours of comfort and repose. At two a. m., on
the 29th, they were astir by moonlight, and continued the ascent for
nearly an hour and a half on horseback, when, as on the former occasion,
they were obliged by the heavy sands to dismount and proceed on foot.
They were still, however, accompanied by the three guides and one serv
ant, who bore their provisions and instruments. In this manner they ad
vanced in the direction of the Pico del Fraile, veiling their faces, to
protect their eyes and skin from the reflection by which they had been so
much injured and annoyed last year ; and thus they passed the broad
belt of volcanic sand between the limits of vegetation and eternal snow.
At half-past seven the view was sublime. The immense plains and
valleys were spread below them like a sea — and as the sun rose, the
14*

212 MEXICO.
gigantic shadows of the volcano lay over the western levels even to the
distant horizon.
At half-past eight the party had attained the Pico — and in the shelter
of the porphyrytic rock that shoots upward near two hundred feet, they
made a slight and comfortable breakfast. But as no promises could in.
duce the Indians to go farther, they were obliged to leave behind many
of their most valuable instruments, and among them, a theodolite, with
which they had designed making some interesting observations and ex
periments on the summit. They took, however, a barometer and a
Daniell's hygrometer, and set out, accompanied by Mr. Egerton's servant,
(a youth of eighteen) the only person who mustered courage to accom-
pany them.
A spur of rocks which strikes upward from the Pico del Fraile impeded
their progress in a direct line, and it became necessary to strike off east-
wardly through a deep ravine formed by one side of this spur or crest,
and a similar spur that descends in that direction from the summit.
This ravine faces the south, and through its comparatively warmer bed
the melting snows discharge themselves into the vale of Amilpas. They
continued ascending over the bottom of the barranca at an angle of thirty-
five degrees, finding but little snow, although the eternal limit of it was
two or three thousand feet below them. After three hours of difficult and
dangerous labor, on the sharp and slippery surface of the rocks, they
reached the upper end of the gorge where it terminates in the solid lava
forming the dome of the volcano. Thenceforward their path was con
stantly over snow, and, although they frequently sank through it up to
their waists, they describe the difficulties as less than while passing the
slippery rocks and sands of the washed barranca. Over these snows
they zig-zagged for a while longer — stopping at almost every step to
gather strength and breath, until, at half-past two, they stood upon the
lofty summit.
Until that moment they had observed no symptoms of a crater; — but the
vast gulf now burst upon them at once, yawning at their feet, filled with
curling vapors that rose to near the edge and mingled with the clouds.
The highest point of the crater is described by Mr. Von Gerolt as lying
to the westward, and the lowest to the east. Its shape is that of an
irregular ellipse, the greatest diameter of which is between the NE. and
SE. This he estimates to be nearly five thousand feet, while the shorter
is about a thousand less, making the whole circumference of the crater,
therefore, nearly a league. Its rough walls plunge to a depth of a thou
sand feet, and the bottom (although of the same shape) has not the same
huge dimensions as the upper rim.
As the sun penetrated the lowest depths of the crater, our travellers
distinctly saw its base, from which two fountains of sulphur constantly
poured forth a whitish smoke that rested on the rocks of the steep walls,
and deposited its residuum among the cracks and crannies. The base
and sides appeared to be entirely crusted with sulphur, and they judged

THE CRATER. 213
that the narrower dimensions of the base are altogether owing to the im
mense accumulation of that material for centuries. On the upper edge
of the crater, the snow — drifted by the winds — curled over the sharp
ledges, but there were no indications of sulphur on the nearest rocks.
Yet, in various parts of the rim, there were circular vents, from two to
five inches in diameter, whence a sulphurous steam issued with a roaring
sound, intermitting at intervals in strength and volume.
In order to examine these valves more closely, Mr. Von Gerolt de
scended about sixty feet into the crater, over masses of red porphyry.
These contain much vitreous feldspar and approach the character of porous
lava, while the immense wall of the opposite side seemed to be composed
of different rock ; — and, through the telescope, appeared in color of a violet
gray, deposited in horizontal strata, resembling the material of the vol
canic hill near Ayotla.
Our adventurers discovered no place by which they could reach the
bottom of the crater, nor could they continue their examinations on the
summit for any great length of time, as their sufferings were intense from
the rarefaction of air, expansion of blood, a continual aching of their
eyes and brows, and excessive debility. They conclude, from these facts,
that the story related by Cortez in his letters to Charles V., that Fran
cisco del Montano had descended into this gulf, and " obtained sulphur
from which they made their powder," is entirely inaccurate.
The silence at this immense height is described by Mr. Von Gerolt as
" sepulchral," broken only at intervals by a subterraneous roar, like the
sound of a distant cannonade, and the rattling of stones and masses of rock
falling from the walls to the bottom of the crater. A similar sound is said
to be frequently heard, even in the city of Mexico, in the direction of
Popocatepetl. The frequent earthquakes that are felt in the Republic,
heaving the whole land from the Gulf to the Pacific, from east to west,
like the undulations of the sea, and manifesting themselves at all the points
where there are indications of volcanic action on the surface, can only be
accounted for by the hypothesis, that at a great depth, all these volcanoes
(separated near their summits by transition and volcanic rock,) have a
general communication over some vast central furnace, where the ele
ments are in continual ferment.
It is related that, in the great earthquake of March, 1834, at half-past
ten at night, the phenomenon was announced by regular oscillations of
the earth from east to west, augmenting gradually until it became diffi
cult to stand erect, while hundreds suffered as from the nausea of sea
sickness. The arches of the aqueduct, by which water is introduced
into Mexico, (running in an easterly direction,) were split in their
centres, while the one that comes from the north remained uninjured.
This earthquake was experienced nearly at the same moment in Vera
Cruz, St. Andres Tuxtla, Huatusco, (a village eight leagues from the
volcano of Orizaba,) Jalapa and Puebla; but, singularly enough, it was
not felt three leagues north of Huatusco, or at a few leagues both north and

214 MEXICO.
south of ihe city of Mexico. Proceeding westward from the Capital, it was
perceived again in Morelia, and it became so violent in the direction
of Acapulco, that it destroyed houses, cracked the earth, and finally
plunged into the sea, whose waves rose and swelled as under the influ-
ence of a violent storm. During its continuance of nearly five min
utes, there were no meteoric phenomena worthy of note, no subterranean
noise, and no perceptible change in the altitude of the barometer, in the
city of Mexico.
Standing on the summit of Popocatepetl and looking over the immense
panorama — which now lay spread like a map at his feet — Mr. Von Gerolt
compared his repeated examinations of the geology of the valley and of the
adjoining departments, and he came to the conclusion, that both the volcano
and the vale owe their origin and present condition to some violent erup
tion, by which the actual surface has been raised from the interior to its
present level, through the primitive and transition rocks ; and that in the
mining districts of the states of Puebla, Mexico and Michoacan, the rich
veins, manifested in slaty formations, or in metallic porphyry, are but the
trifling remains or islands, as it were, left rising above the plain, after the
fiery deluge that swept over portions of our Continent.
But (turning to the prospect around them, from the examination of the
crater of that vast stack, which pours forth the smoke and vapors of the
central fires, and acts, perhaps, as the great safety-valve of a large part
of the New World,) the travellers speak of the immense picture that lay
before them as indescribably sublime.
The day was remarkably clear. Few clouds, and those very high in
the air, appeared against the sky, which was almost black with the inten
sity of its azure ; and, as far as the eye could reach, in every direction,
there was one uninterrupted waving of mountain, valley and plain, until
(almost without a horizon) the earth and the sky blent in vapory blueness.
In the midst of the eastern plain, the tall cone of Orizaba stood up in bold
relief against the sky, with its snowy peak glittering like a point of flash
ing steel. Below them, near two thousand feet, lay the summit of Iztac
cihuatl, covered with snow, and exhibiting not the slightest evidence either
of crater or volcanic action.
After enjoying this splendid panorama as long as their enfeebled con
dition would allow them, erecting a flag-staff, and making the sketch I
have placed at the commencement of this letter ; — the travellers, at four
o'clock, began a descent, which they describe as not the least difficult
portion of their enterprise. If they complained of the toilsome slowness
of climbing, they could now with equal justice complain of the dangerous
swiftness of their return. The day was far advanced ; the cool wind
of the evening had already frozen the surface that melted under the noon
day sun, and, passing over the sands and snows at a sharp angle, thev

TOPOGRAPHIC ELEVATIONS. 215
were often violently precipitated either against masses of rocks, or to the
very verge of precipices, from which they only saved themselves by the
firmness of their nerves and the strength of their iron-shod staves. At
length, however, after several very narrow escapes, they reached the limit
of the forest, and in a few days returned to Mexico in excellent spirits.
By the failure of the Indians to ascend with them to the summit, they
were unable to make many experiments, for which the great scientific
acquirements of Mr. Von Gerolt so highly qualify him. In addition to
this, the barometer, which had been slung on the back of Mr. Egerton's
servant, was broken by a fall; so that (as far as measurements were con
cerned,) the expedition was entirely fruitless. I have, however, compiled
from the notes of two other parties, the following statements, which are
interesting, as affording the most accurate dimensions of this remarkable
volcano :
Mr. Bekbeck, who ascended on the 10th of November, 1837, gives the
elevation of Popocatepetl, above the Valley of Mexico, at 10,382 feet.
Mexico is above Vera Cruz, according to Humboldt, - 7,470

Whole height of volcano above the sea, 17,852
Mr. Glennie, who ascended 20th April, 1837, gives the elevation of
Popocatepetl, above the Valley of Mexico, at - 10,413 feet.
Mexico above Vera Cruz, according to Humboldt, 7,470

17,883
By a series of observations, made at Vera Cruz in 1828, the opinion is,
that the true height of Mexico above Vera Cruz, or in other words, above
the level of the sea, is 7,548 feet, which, added to their elevations above
the Valley of Mexico, will give us, for
Berbeck, .... . 17,930 feet.
Glennie, .... 17,961
While Humboldt, (who gives his by trigonometrical ob
servations,) ... 17,715
The limit of all vegetation, according to Glennie, is - 12,693
Pico del Fraile, -  16,895
Limit of pines,  12,544
In November, 1827, the thermometer, at ihe summit, was 22° of Fahr.
and in April of the same year, 33°.
At the limit of vegetation, Mr. Von Gerolt found, at 6 p. m., the precip :
of moisture, by Daniell's hygrometer, 36° Fahr. on the interior ther
mometer; and at 50° in the atmosphere. Water boiled at 194° Fahr.
Barometer, 19.12, English. Temperature, 48° Fahr. Correspond
ing observations, made in Mexico, gave 23.071 English inches, from
which we deduce a height of - - 5,144 English feet.
To which add  7,548
12,692

216

MEXICO.

which is within one foot, it will be perceived, of the height assigned to
this spot by Mr. Glennie.
I present you with a sketch of the outline of the mountain, on which
the different elevations are marked, so that the whole of these measure
ments will be at once mapped out before you.

7548 ABOVE THE LEVEL OF

OUTLINE OF POPOCATEPETL.

* This is a difficult word to pronounce, but it is easy in comparison with many of the Indian words you may
hear uttered every day in the markets of Mexico.
"Nothing," says Humboldt, "strikes tlie Europeans more in the Aztec, Nahualt, or Mexican language, than
the excessive length of the words. This length doe3 not always depend on their being compounded, as in the
Greek, the German, and the Sanscrit, but on the manner of forming the substantive, the plural, or the superla
tive. A kiss is called tetennamiquiliztli ; a word formed from the verb tennamiqvi, to embrace, and the addi
tive particles te and liitli. In the same manner we have Uatolona, to ask, and tetlatolaniliztli, a demand ; tlay-
Mouiltia, to torment, and tetlayhiouiltilizth, torment. To form the plural, the Aztecs in several words double
the first syllable ; as miztli, a cat ; mimiztin, cats ; tochtli, a rabbit : totochtin, rabbits. Tin is the termination
which indicates the plural. Sometimes, the duplication is made in the midst of a word; for instance, ichpochUi,
o. girl ; ickpopochttn, girls *. telpochtli, a boy ; telpopocktin, boys. The most remarkable pxample 1 have met
with of a real composition of words, is found in the word amatlacuilolitquitcatiaxtlatiuilli, which signifies, the
reward-given-to-the-messenger-who-carries-a-paper-on-which-is-painted-tidings. This word, which forms by
itself an Alexandrian line, contains amatl, paper (of the agave;) cuiloa, to paint, or trace hieroglyphics ; and
Uaxtlahvilli, the wages or salary of a workman." The word notiazomahuiztespixcatatzin, which signifies,
venerable-priest-whom-I-cherish-as-my-father, is used by the Mexicans in addressing the priests. In the Aztec
language, the letters B, D, F, G, and R, are wanting."— Humboldt's Researches, voL ii. p. 346. Pol. JSssag
vol. i. p.139.

JOURNAL OF AN EXCURSION TO
TEZCOCO,
THE PYRAMIDS OF TEOTIHUACAN,
THE HILL OF TEZCOSINGO,
&c . &c . & c .

I left Mexico on the seventh of October, with some friends, to visit the
ancient city of Tezcoco, and the Pyramids of St. Juan Teotihuacan.
There are two routes ; one by the road around the southern margin of the
lake, and another by the Indian canoes across the lake itself. We selected
the latter, and rendezvoused at the gate of San Lazaro, where the canal
enters the city. There was some difficulty in finding a boat, as we had
delayed beyond the hour when the vessels usually leave the city, on their
return to Tezcoco ; but L  , who was well acquainted with the neigh
borhood, beat up the usual haunts of the Indians about the pulque shops,
and, by dint of persuasion and clacos, induced a couple of stout rowers to
launch their vessel.
In half an hour we found ourselves on board a flat-bottomed scow, under
an awning of mats stretched over saplings, and reclining at full length on
the bedding with which we had luckily provided ourselves, against the
wants of Tezcoco.
For nearly a mile from the city gate, the canal leads through a tangled
marsh, tenanted exclusively by mosquitos. The stings of the annoying
insects were not idle on our skins, and I scarcely ever suffered so much
as in reaching the waters of the lake through these foul and desolate fens.
We, however, soon found our way out of them, stopping for a moment at
the Pefion Viejo, a small volcanic hill or pustule rising from the plain,

218 MEXICO.
where there are warm baths,* and the remains of some ancient sculpture,
of no great significance.
On attaining the lake itself, the view was exceedingly beautiful. The
expanse is a clear and noble sheet, reflecting on its calm bosom every hill
and mountain of the valley, while to the north (where it unites with San
Cristoval) the lakes and horizon are blended. Yet it is singular, that,
sounding in the deepest central part of the lake, we obtained but two
feet and a half of water ! The boatmen poled the entire distance of
twelve miles, and on every side we saw fishermen wading along in the
lake, pushing their boats as they loaded them with fish, or gathered the
" flies' eggs" from the tall weeds and flags, that are planted in long rows
as nests for the insects. These eggs (called agayacail) were a favorite
food of the Indians long before the conquest, and, when baked in pates, are
not unlike the roe of fishes, both in flavor and appearance. After frogs
in France, and " bird nests" in China, I think they may be esteemed quite
a delicacy, and I find that they are not despised even at fashionable tables
in the Capital.
Father Gage, at page 111 of his Travels, says that " at one season of
the year, the Indians had nets of mail, with the which they raked off a
certain dust that is bred on the water of the lake of Mexico, and is kneaded
together like unto oas of the sea. They gathered much of this and kept
it in heaps, and made thereof cakes like unto brick-bats. And they did
not only sell this ware in the market, but also sent it abroad to other fairs
and markets afar off; and they did eat this meal, with as good a stomach
as we eat cheese ; yea, and they hold the opinion, that this scum of fatness
of the water is the cause that such great number of fowl cometh to the
lake, which in the winter season is infinite."
This was written early in the seventeenth century, and " infinite" still
continues to be the number of wild fowl with which these lakes and the
neighboring marshes are covered during the winter. I have elsewhere
said, that the plains and the waters seem actually peppered with them.
There can of course be but little skill in sporting among such clouds
of birds, and the consequence is that they are slain for the market, by per
sons who rent the best situated shooting-grounds from the proprietors of the
* According to Humboldt, (Pol. Essay, vol. ii. p. 188.) There are two sources of mineral waters in the Valley
of Mexico; one at Guadalupe, the other at tlie Pcnon. Those waters contain carbonic acid, sulphate of lime
and of soda, and muriate of soda. The temperature of the waters at the Penon is quite high.
At this place the Indians, also, make salt.
" Of tlie five lakes of the Valley of Mexico, the lake of Tezcoco is most impregnated with muriate and carbon
ate of soda. The nitrate of barytes proves that this water contains no sulphate in solution. The purest and most
limpid water is that of the lake of Xochimilco, tlie specific weight of which I found to be 1.2009, when that of
water distilled at the temperature of 54° Fahr. was 1.090, and water from the lake of Tezcoco was 1.0215. The
water of tliis last mentioned lake is consequently heavier than that of tlie Baltic sea, and not so heavy as that of
the ocean, which, under different latitudes, has been found between 1.0269 and 1.0285. The quantity of sulphur-
eted hydrogen which is detached from the surface of the Mexican lakes, and which the acetate of lead indicates
in great abundance in the lakes of Tezcoco and Chalco, undoubtedly contributes in certain seasons to the an-
healthiness of the air in the valley. However, the foct is curious, that intermittent fevers are very rare on the
bankR of these lakes, the surface of which ia partly hidden by rushes and aquatic herbs.— Fide Humboldt— et
Mod. Traveller, vol. vi. p. 251.

THUNDER STORM. 219
lake margins. The gunners erect a sort of infernal machine, with three
tiers of barrels — one, level with the marsh or water, another slightly ele
vated, and the third at a still greater angle. The lower tier is discharged
at the birds while they are setting, and this of course destroys a multitude ;
but as some must necessarily escape the first discharge, the second and
third tiers are fired in quick succession, and it is rare indeed that a duck
avoids the wholesale slaughter. From 125,000 to 200,000 annually load
the markets of Mexico, and form the cheapest food of the multitude; but
it is rare that you can procure one delicate enough to bring to your table.

It was near four o'clock, when, under the slow impulse of our polers,
we approached the eastern border of the lake. The shores were dotted
with white-walled haciendas and lines of beautiful groves, while at the
distance of a few miles, in the interior, rose the lofty sierra, in the midst
of which, the mountain of Tlaloc, '-'the god of Storms," was brewing a
heavy thunder-storm. The clouds were thickly gathered around the top
of the mountain, and as we disembarked on the waste-like quay, among
sands and marshes, the first premonitory drops began to patter on our hats.
Here we had expected to find a carriage, or at least horses, waiting to
convey us the remaining league to the town of Tezcoco. But as we did
not arrive by the early boats of the morning, our friends had returned
home, presuming that we had relinquished our proposed expedition.
While our baggage was landing from the boat, the rain increased rap
idly. There was no place for shelter, except an open shed occupied by
the boatmen during the day. Thunder and lightning were soon added to
the storm ; and yet, in the midst of these accumulated discomforts, we took
up our line of march, as the prospect of remaining was worse than the
danger of a drenching. None of the- Indians could be bought or bribed to
leave their boats and carry our luggage, nor were there any idlers about,
willing to earn an honest penny as porters. I therefore put on my serape,
and the oil-skin cover of my hat ; and fastening my valise by a handker
chief on my back, balanced it (aguador fashion, in front,) by my gun and
sword, — and thus set forth for a dreary tramp over the lonely waste.
As we advanced, the rain and tempest of wind, thunder and lightning,
increased ; and I have no recollection, in the course of my travels, of a
more disagreeable pilgrimage than the one we made to Tezcoco. Our
anxiety was greatly increased by the loss of one of our party in the dark
ness among some morasses, and by the rise of a considerable stream that
.crossed the road near the town. We however waded the brook, and,
about eight o'clock, arrived at the hospitable dwelling of an American,
who, after wandering about the world in various capacities, has settled
down in the city of Tezcoco, where (from his connection with an exten
sive menagerie, that once astonished the Mexicans' with its lions and
monkeys,) he passes by the significant cognomen of " El de losfieros."

220 MEXICO.
A kindlier heart, however, exists not on earth ; and to him and to his Mexi-
can wife, I am indebted for many a pleasant hour, beguiled by the exqui-
site music of the one, and the story of wild adventure of the other.

TEZCOCO.

8$ October. We rose early. Every symptom of yesterday's storm
was swept from the sky — a clear and beautiful day, mild as our June.
After breakfast we sallied forth to make arrangements for our journey
to Teotihuacan, but found that the person who was to furnish us with
horses had gone on a bull-catching expedition to a neighboring hacienda.
Finding it, therefore, impossible to make any excursions to the neighbor
hood to-day, we amused ourselves by strolling over the town and seeing
all that is interesting in the way of antiquarian research.
At the period of the conquest, Tezcoco was the second city of the
Mexican Empire ; and what it must have been in splendor and vastness,
may be judged from the account I have heretofore given of the Capital
itself. Situated, then, on the borders of the lake, (the spot from which
Cortez launched his brigantines when he invested Mexico by water,) it
perhaps resembled Pisa both in power and importance ; but every trace
of its former magnificence has disappeared, and it has dwindled to
scarcely more than a respectable village, where a few herdsmen, fisher
men, and farmers have gathered together for mutual protection and traffic.
The large Plaza is silent and deserted — the people loll about their shops
and houses as on a holyday — a universal quietude rests over the whole
town — and a general listlessness seems to prevail both in regard to the
present and the future.*
I was particularly struck with one bad feature in the character of the
Tezcocans — a disregard for their dead. In passing through the western
portion of the town we came to the parish church, which was being re
paired. On entering the square in front of it, I stumbled against a
human skull ; a little farther on, I found the niches in the walls filled
with them ; — the floor of the edifice was taken up, and the dead-pits had
been cleaned and scraped, yet the remains of the human frame were still
plenteously scattered over the bottom, and the stench was intolerable.
The whole surface of the yard was strewn with ribs and thigh bones-
lower jaws — teeth — and fragments of skulls, and a huge pile of rich,
black mould, mottled with human bones, was thrown in a corner — ihe contents
of the pits loiihin.
* When Cortaz entered the city of Tezcoco, on the last day of the year 1S20, the nobles came out to
meet him, and conducted him to one of the Palaces of the late King Nezahualcojotl, which was large enough,
according to the Conqueror, " to contain not only the six hundred Spaniards who were lodged in it, hit as
many more."— Clavigero, Book x., vol. 2, p. 139.

ANC1E.NT BAS RELIEF.

PYRAMIDS OF TEZCOCO. 221

PYRAMIDS.
In the northwestern corner of Tezcoco is a pile of earth, bricks, mor
tar and pottery, entirely shapeless, and covered with a field of aloes ; on
the top of this I found several very large slabs of basalt, squared with
the chisel and laid due north and south. Tradition says, that these are
the remains of the Palace of Montezuma.
On this spot, some years ago, the small fragment represented in the op
posite drawing was found, and immediately transferred to the collection
of the Conde del Penasco, in Mexico, where it is now preserved.
It appears to be the remains of a trough or basin, and the sculpture is
neatly executed in relief. I imagine that it was designed to represent a
conflict between a serpent and bird, and you cannot fail to remark the
cross distinctly carved near the lower right-hand corner of the vessel.
At the southern end of the town, there are still distinctly traceable
three immense pyramids, the forms of which are not so much obliterated
as might be supposed after the lapse of centuries. They lie in a line
with each other from north to south — are about four hundred feet in ex
tent on each side of their bases, and are built partly of adobes and partly
of large burned bricks and fragments of pottery. In many places I dis
covered remains of a thick covering of cement, through which small ca
nals or gutters had been formed to carry off the water, or, perhaps, the
blood, from the upper terrace. The sides of these pyramids were strewn
with fragments of idols, clay vessels, and obsidian knives. It is related
by Bernal Diaz del Castillio, that the great temple of Tezcoco was as
cended by one hundred and seventeen steps ; and it is probable that one
of these pyramids was the base of the Teocalli to which the historian
alludes. These were all the antiquities I could find in the town of Tezcoco,
except the spot where tradition says that Cortez launched his vessels.
It still passes by the name of " Puente de las Brigantinas" and is now
probably rather more than a mile in a direct line from the lake.
While I was in Mexico a most interesting piece of antiquity was sent
from Tezcoco to General Tornel, and presented by him to Mr. Morphy,
an opulent English merchant, who has since returned to England. It
was a group, modelled in clay, about a foot and a half high, representing
a sacrifice, and consisted of two figures — the priest and the victim.
The latter (a female) had been thrown over a tall and narrow stone ; the
priest had just made a deep incision in her back — torn out her heart —
and was in the act of offering it to the idol. The expressions of death and
agony in the countenance of the woman — and of pride and enthusiasm
in the priest, were admirably rendered. I intended making a drawing of
this group, but Mr. Morphy sent it to the coast for shipment immedi-

222 MEXICO.
ately after its reception, and I scarcely regret the occurrence now, as one
of the best antiquarians of Mexico cast considerable doubt on its genuine
ness. It is the fashion here, as in Italy, to manufacture antiquities bv
the gross, and it requires a keen eye to detect the imposture.
As we left the Pyramids of Tezcoco, after our morning's examina
tion, we were beset by ' several of the burghers who professed to sell
large collections of interesting fragments and statues. Among these
worthies was an old Indian who lived directly opposite the largest of the
pyramids, and spent his leisure hours in groping among the ruins. We
accompanied them, one after the other, to their houses, but found scarcely
anything worthy of purchase except a few small idols of serpentine, and
some personal ornaments cut from an exceedingly hard and brittle stone.
As to the Indian — his idols were the dolls of all his progeny, and had
been pounded about the yard of his mud hovel for so many years, that
their features were entirely obliterated.

In the evening, the person who was to be our guide in the neighbor
hood, came into town and immediately visited us. I found him to be an
honest, open-hearted, rollicking fellow ; who passed his time in catching
cattle — looking after a small milpa, or corn-field — and hunting in the
neighboring mountains. His hands and face were scarred by his numer
ous encounters with the beasts ; yet before he left us he made one of the
girls of the family tune her guitar, and leading out another, danced a
fandango, while he chanted a song in a patois that I could not under
stand, but which seemed highly amusing from the merriment of the
company. Qih October. — Sunday. A night passed in fleadom ! We were, con
sequently, abroad early — and the day was beautiful. At half-past nine
we were in our saddles, and on our way to the

PYRAMIDS OF ST. JUAN TEOTIHUACAN.

On leaving the town our road lay in a northeasterly direction, through
a number of picturesque villages buried in foliage, and fenced with the
organ cactus, lifting its tall pillar-like stems to a height of twenty feet
above the ground. The country was rolling, and we passed over several
elevations and a stream or two before we turned suddenly to the right,
and saw the village of St. Juan with an extensive level beyond it, bor
dered on all sides by mountains, except toward the east, where a deep
depression in the chain leads into the plains of Otumba. In the centre
of this level are the Pyramids of Teotihuacan, and the opposite engra-

le fiLeld ls covereiI with trees
hushes, nopals, and mugueys.
1 here are also numerous ves
tiges of Mounds, not indi
cated on tliis plan.

A. Pyramid of the Moon.
B. A huge muss of granite,
globular in shape, and
6 yards and 20 inches in E
circumference.
C. The large stone Pillar
presented in the draw
ing on the next page.
D. Pyramid of the Sun
E. Rows of Mounds.

PLAN OF THE EUINS
OP THE
PYRAMIDS ST. JUAN
TEOTIHUACAN.

PYRAMIDS OF TEOTIHUACAN.'

223

ving will give you an accurate idea of their position and present appear
ance from this point.
After we passed through the village, the high-road was soon lost among
paths leading between the walled fields of Indian farmers. At short dis
tances, as we advanced in the direction of the pyramids, I observed evi
dent traces of a well made ancient road, covered with- several inches of
a close and hard cement, which, in turn, was often overlaid with a foot or
two of soil. We crossed the plain, and, in a quarter of an hour, stood
at the foot of the Tonatiuh Ytzagual, or, " House of the Sun," the base
line of which is six hundred and eighty-two feet, and the perpendicular
height, two 'hundred and twenty-one.*
There is no other description of these monuments to be given than by
saying that they are pyramids, three stories or stages of which are yet dis
tinctly visible. The whole of their exteriors is covered with a thick
growth of nopals or prickly pears ; and, in many places, I discovered
the remains of the coating of cement with which they were incrusted in
the days of their perfection. A short distance, northwestwardly, from
the " House of the Sun," is the Metzli Ytzagual, or " House of the Moon,"
with a height of one hundred and forty-four feet. On the level summits
of both of these, there were erected, no doubt, the shrines of the gods
and the places of sacrifice.
I ascended, clambering among the bushes and loose stones with uncer
tain footing, to the top of the " House of the Sun." The view from it was
exceedingly picturesque over the cultivated fields to the east and south.
Immediately to the south were a number of mound-like clusters, run
ning toward a number of elevations arranged in a square, beyond the
streamlet of Teotihuacan, and bordering the road that leads to Otumba.
On the western front there were also five or six tumuli extending toward
a long line of similar mounds, running from the southern side of the
"House of the Moon." These lines were quite distinct, and the whole
plain was more or less covered with heaps of stones. It is extremely
probable, that at one time they all formed the sepulchres of the distin
guished men of the Empire, and constituted the Micoail or " Path of the
Dead" — a name which they bore in the ancient language of the country.
It was perhaps the Westminster Abbey of the Toltecs and Aztecs.
You will, however, obtain a much better idea of the arrangement of
these pyramids and smaller tumuli by reference to the opposite plan,
made some years since by a scientific friend of mine, and compared by
me with the remaining ruins on the spot, in 1842.
An examination of the " House of the Moon," or lesser pyramid, af
fords no more information to the inquirer than the "House of the Sun."
Like its neighbor, it is a mass of stones, rocks and cement ; but, within a
few years past, an entrance has been discovered between the second and
third terraces, leading through a narrow passage, that may be traversed
on hands and knees on an inclined plane for about twenty-five feet, to
* Glennie.

224

MEXICO.

two walled chambers, or sinks, like wells ; — one of which has a depth of
about fifteen feet, and the other rather less. The walls of the entrance
and of the sinks are of the common adobe, and there are no remains
either of sculpture, painting, or human bodies, to reward the groper
through the dark and dusty adit. I could perceive no sign of an entrance
in the "House of the Sun."
It is useless to inquire into the antiquity of these pyramids. There is
no authentic tradition of their builders, although they are usually referred
to the Toltecs. Clavigero* is very brief in his remarks in regard to
them, but says that in the temples dedicated to the Sun and Moon, there
were two idols of huge bulk carved of stone and covered with gold. The
breast of the idol of the Sun was grooved out, and a massive image of the
planet, in solid gold, was fixed in the hollow. Of this the conquerors
immediately possessed themselves, while the idol was destroyed by order
of the Bishop of Mexico, and the fragments remained in the neighborhood
until the end of the seventeenth century. A huge globular mass of gra
nite at the spot indicated on the plan by the letter B — measuring nineteen
feet and eight inches in circumference — may probably be either part of its
ruins, or the sacrificial stone upon whose convex surface thousands have
been offered to the gods.
A short distance west of this ball, at the place marked with the letter
C, in the middle of the small semicircular elevation of ground and stones,
(on the top of which are three tumuli with five more on its eastern base,l
is the curious stone of which the following is an exact design.

Vol. i, p. 268 and 2

INDIAN TRADITION. 225
It lies due east and west, and is ten feet six inches in length by five
feet in breadth. The material is granite, and though the sculpture on the
northern and upper sides is very faint, yet, on the side facing the south,
it is quite as distinct as represented in the drawing. The dark shade B
is a hollow, three inches deep at the sides, and six at the top and bottom.
In looking at this stone one might imagine that it had .been a pillar, thrown
down accidentally on its side ; but the exact east and west position —
precisely in ihe centre of ihe group of tumuli — would seem to forbid such
an idea. It is said, that all who sit or recline on this singular fragment
are immediately seized with a fainting fit ; and, although we had heard
of this remarkable property of the relic, we forgot to test the truth of it.
Clavigero tells us, that in the principal temple of Teotihuacan there
dwelt constantly four priests, who were remarkable for the virtue and
austerity of their lives. Their dress was of the most ordinary stuffs, and
their food was confined to a loaf of maize, weighing two ounces, and a
cup of atoltt or gruel of the same grain.
Every night two of these devotees kept watch — offering incense, sing
ing hymns to the gods, and shedding their blood on the stones of the tem
ple. Their fastings and vigils continued for four years, except during a
monthly festival, when they were permitted to indulge in as much food as
they desired ; but, while preparing for this enjoyment, they were obliged
to undergo additional mortifications. At the end of four years they re
tired from the temple, and an equal number supplied their places, to go
through the same rites and sufferings — and, in honor thereof, to receive
the same homage and respect both from the people and their sovereign.
But high as was the recompense of their virtues, the punishment of
vice, or of a violation of chastity, was proportionably severe. If the crime
was proved after strict investigation, the culprit was beaten to death — his
body burned — and his ashes scattered to the winds.

TRADITION.
There is a singular tradition in regard to the reappearance of the Sun
and Moon after the regeneration and multiplication of the human race,
which I will here recount to you.
Omecihuatl— the wife of the god Ometeuctli — after having borne many
children in heaven, happened once to bring forth a knife of flint, which
her enraged offspring flung to earth — when lo ! from its fragments, sprang
sixteen hundred heroes! Immediately they petitioned their mother to
grant them power to create men for their servants. But she disdained to
aid her children, and sent them to the. god of Hell, who, she declared,
would furnish them with a bone of one of ihe men who had perished in the
general destruction of the races. This fragment she ordered them to
15

226 MEXICO.
sprinkle with their blood, and a human pair should spring from it to re-
generate the species.
Xolotl, one of the heroes, departed on the dangerous errand, and
having obtained the gift from the infernal deity, hastened off precipitately
in fear that he might repent the present. So rapidly did he return to
earth, that in his speed he accidentally fell and broke the bone! Never.
the! ess, he returned to his brothers with the fragments, and, placing them
in a vessel, sprinkled the precious relics with blood drawn from their
bodies. On the fourth day there appeared a boy ; and, after a lapse of
three days more — during which the bloody sprinklings were continued — .
a girl was formed. They were reared by their guardian Xolotl with the
milk of thistles — and thus commenced the regeneration of the world !
But there was no Sun nor Moon ! The luminaries that existed in for
mer days had been extinguished in the general ruin.
The heroic brothers, therefore, assembled on the plain of Teotihuacan.
They built a huge pile, and, kindling it, declared that the first who threw
himself into the flames should have the glory to be transformed into a
Sun. Nanahuatzin, the boldest of the multitude, immediately leaped into
the blaze and descended to hell. After a short period, the Sun rose in
the east !
But scarcely had he appeared above the horizon when he stopped in
his course. They sent a message to the Orb desiring him to continue his
travels, but he politely declined doing so until he should see them all put
to death!This, as may well be imagined, was anything but agreeable to the
band of sixteen hundred, and not a few undertook to manifest their dis
pleasure very openly. One seized his bow and shot an arrow, which the
Sun safely avoided by dodging! Another made an equally passionate
and fruitless demonstration ; and, so on with several, until the luminary,
tired of the sport, and somewhat annoyed, flung back one of the arrows,
and fixed it in the forehead of the first hero who had rashly aimed at his
blazing disc.
The heroic brothers, intimidated by the fate of their companion, and
unable to cope with the Orb, resolved to yield to his behests and to die by
the hands of the daring Xolotl: who, after slaying all his relatives, com
mitted suicide. Before the heroes perished, they bequeathed their clothes
to their servants ; and, even at the period of the conquest, many "ancient
garments" were preserved by the Mexicans with singular veneration, un
der the belief that they were the dying gifts of the valiant heroes, who
had restored the lost Sun for the comfort of their race.
A similar fable is told of the origin of the Moon. Before the final sac
rifice of the 1600, another person of the same assemblage followed the
example of his brother Nanahuatzin, and threw himself into the flames.
But the strength of the fire had declined, and as the voluntary victim
burned with a paler flame, he was glorified only by the humbler dignity
of a Moonship !

d*L*r$&\

IstoSf lf||p& ^^mm
WKam

*m

VIATICUM AND FUNERAL RITES. 227
On the plain which had been the scene of this wonderful incantation and
miraculous result, the descendants of the race consecrated two temples to the
Sun and Moon, and the pyramids I have just described were, doubtless, the
bases of their shrines and altars."

It was late when we turned our horses' heads homeward, from the pyr
amids. At the base of that of the Moon, I met several old Indians who
brought me a number of obsidian sacrificial knives, and small heads of a
finely tempered clay, of which the opposite figures are specimens. They
have evidently never been attached to bodies, and their purposes are en
tirely unknown by the Mexican antiquarians, although they have hitherto
been discovered in great quantities at the foot of these Teocallis.
As we were just departing, an old woman lugged from beneath her
petticoat a singular box of mottled marble, divided into four compart
ments, and covered on its exterior with very elaborate carving. The fig
ures appeared to be those of Spaniards, and, in one place, there was a
symbol resembling the cross. She said it had been dug up in an old
field by her husband, when planting his last year's crop. Having pur
chased it for a dollar, it was forthwith deposited in the folds of a serape
on my pillion, with the sonorous title of " Montezuma's inkstand !"
We rode merrily home, and reached Tezcoco by a brilliant moonlight,
meeting troops of Indians returning from their Sunday's frolic in the town.
As we passed through the numerous corn-fields with which the road-side
is bordered, we heard the loud crack of the milperos' whip, as, seated
on his high perch in the midst of the acres, he waved it, during the whole
night, in ierrorem, over the flocks of robber black-birds that infest the
neighborhood as the grain is ripening.

VIATICUM AND FUNERAL RITES.
10th October. — Monday. An idle day, as Tio Ignacio, (as he is famil
iarly called,) was unable to accompany us to Tezcosingo.
Last night a young woman died in the house next to us, and her body
is exposed to-day on a bier, surrounded with flowers and candles, in the
entrance of the dwelling, so that it may be seen by every passer.
Approaching death, and the funeral services, are matters of considera
ble pomp in Mexico with almost all classes — and, especially, with the
rich. » Vide McCulloh, 229, 230, 231.
15*

228 MEXICO.
In April last, Madame Santa Anna, the wife of the President, was dan
gerously ill, and on the 19th of the month her life was in imminent
peril. Early in the morning it was rumored that she was to receive the
last sacrament, and, in all probability, would not survive the service.
About noon, notes of invitation were sent from the Foreign Office to all
the members of the Diplomatic Corps, requesting their presence at the
ceremony of the Viaticum ; and at seven o'clock we repaired, in uniform
to the Palace, where we were provided with massive wax torches, and
ranged round the walls of the audience-chamber with the invited citizens
strangers, and friends of the suffering lady.
It was already quite dark. Presently the large bell of the Cathedral
began to toll mournfully ; and, being near a window overlooking the
great square, I could perceive a solemn procession, with torches, issue
from the door of the sacred edifice, preceded by a military band perform
ing appropriate music. Slowly it advanced to the Palace gates — the
jewelled robes of the Archbishop and attendant priests, flashing in the
blaze of a thousand lights, as they approached the portals. They
mounted the steps ; entered the apartment ; and, as the prelate passed
through, chanting a hymn, the crowd knelt to the sacred elements.
The Cabinet Ministers and Chiefs of the army then accompanied the
priests into the chamber of the lady, where the required functions were
performed. Returning again, through our saloon, they issued into the
square, and, after making a tour around it, entered the Cathedral. The
effect of this procession — with its torches blazing in the night like so
many diamonds — its solemn military music, and its melancholy hymn —
was solemn and picturesque.
There was a similar display (though not with so much magnificence,)
at the death of General Moran, ex-Marquis of Vivanco. His dwelling
was directly opposite my hotel, and I saw the whole of the preparations
for his funeral from the windows.
Having been a patriotic soldier in his day, the Government undertook
the arrangement of the last rites in his honor, and he was escorted by the
flower of the troops.
His body was embalmed by the process of Ganal. It was laid on an
open bier, dressed in the full uniform of a Major-general, with boots,
spurs, plumed hat, sword, and even the cane by his side, as is usual with
Spanish officers. So perfectly had the operation been performed on the
body, that it presented in these equipments, a horrid and unnatural mock
ery of sleep ; nor shall I ever forget the stony gaze of the glass eyes, as
the dead body of the General issued from his gate- way.
To the sound of solemn music the procession moved along the streets
of Espiritu Santo and San Francisco, toward the great church near the
Alameda. The bier was placed on a lofty catafalque before the altar,
hung with black velvet and lighted with tapers. A solemn service was
performed with every aid of ecclesiastical splendor — and a multitude of

A RUSE DE GUERRE.

229

priests, in the different chapels, immediately commenced their masses for
the repose of the hero's soul. At dark, his body was left with watchers
around the pile on which it reposed, and, in a few days, it was deposited
in an oaken sarcophagus and carried to a favorite hacienda for interment.
TEZCOSINGO.
llth October. Another fine day. After breakfast we started on our
promised expedition to the hill of Tezcosingo — which rises in a tall cone
at the end of the eastern plain, jutting out for a mile or two from the wall
of mountains.
Tio Ignacio accompanied us on this occasion, and proved an excellent
guide over the country; By his free, bold, dashing manners, and con
summate courage, he has managed to obtain a remarkable control over all
the neighboring Indians, and appears to be a person likely to make him
self obeyed. He took an active part in the Revolution, and, as we rode
from the town, pointed out to me the spot where, during a sudden night-
attack of a guerilla party, he had been chased by a band of troopers from
whom he was alone saved by the swiftness of his horse. It seems, however,
that one of the cavalry, more daring than the rest, continued the pursuit
after his companions had retreated ; — but he paid dearly for his rashness
in the end.
When Ignacio had cleared the streets and the suburbs of Tezcoco, he
suddenly turned on his follower, and striking off at right-angles, dexter
ously threw his lasso over the trooper. In a moment he had dismounted
his pursuer ; — and putting his animal into full gallop, dragged the wretch
for more than a mile over the plain, and cast his mangled body into a
barranca !

y^lmms

THROWING TIIE LASSO.

230 MEXICO.

As we trotted over the league of level ground that intervened between
the town and hill, this story of the " tio"* brought out some of the revo.
lutionary recollections of one of our party. I will record a couple of
these illustrating the jugglery of the chiefs, and the controlling supersti-
tious power of the priesthood over the mass of insurgent Indians.
It is related that Hidalgo, the celebrated priestly leader of the Revo-
lutionary movement, was accustomed to travel from village to village
preaching a crusade against the Spaniards, and exciting the Creoles and
Indians ; and one of his most effective tricks is said to have been the fol-
lowing. Although he had thrown off the cassock for the military coat,
he wore a figure of the Virgin Mary suspended by a chain around his
neck. After haranguing the mob on such occasions, he would suddenly
break off, and looking down at his breast, address himself to the holy
image, after the following fashion : — " Mary ! Mother of God ! Holy Vir
gin ! Patron of Mexico ! behold our country, — behold our wrongs, — be
hold our sufferings ! Dost thou not wish they should be changed ? that
we should be delivered from our tyrants ? that we should be free ? that
we should slay the Gauchupines ? that we should kill the Spaniards ?"
The image had a moveable head fastened to a spring, which he jerked
by a cord concealed beneath his coat, and, of course, the Virgin responded
with a nod ! The effect was immense — and the air was filled with In
dian shouts of obedience to the present miracle.

During the heat of the insurrection, it was deemed necessary, upon a
certain occasion, to execute a priest ; and the officer in command of the
party ordered a common soldier to lead the padre to a neighboring ditch,
and dispatch him with a bullet.
The soldier peremptorily refused, declaring that it was unlawful for
him to kill a "servant of God." The officer threatened him with instant
death if he persisted in his refusal ; but the soldier continued firm. The
Captain then turned to the priest, ordered him to "receive the confession of
the soldier on the spot," and then sent both to the ditch, where they were
murdered together !
He who writes the secret history of the Mexican Revolt, will have to
record a story of blood, crime and superstition, unequalled in the annals
of the world.

" Tio," or uncle, is a ttuuilar mode of addressing intimates in the country.

EXCURSION TO TEZCOSINGO. 231
At the village of Huejutla there are some interesting remains of the
ancient Indians. A large ruined wall, about twenty-five feet in height
and five or six in thickness, is pointed out as part of a palace, and ter
minates, to the eastward, on the steeps of a barranca. This barranca is
crossed by an ancient arched bridge, which we neglected visiting. The
most interesting, and certainly the most picturesque, antique in the vicin
ity, is a noble row of seventeen olive trees, in an inclosure near the
church, alleged to have been planted by the conquerors.
We stopped at the house of an Alcalde in the village of Natividad, to
procure an Indian guide, who had promised his services to aid Ignacio in
discovering certain fossil remains that lay on the edges of the mountains
to the eastward ; but, after waiting a considerable length of time, neither
Ignacio nor the Indian appeared, and we determined to proceed alone to
ward Tezcosingo, under the escort of L  , who professed to be well
acquainted with the hill and its antiquities.
The conical mountain rose out of the plain directly north of us ; but in
order to reach its base, we were obliged to descend a ravine three or four
hundred feet in depth, and to ascend afterward along cliffs and herbage
like those that opposed us on our journey to Xochicalco. At length we
gained the foot of the mountain, and commenced a zig-zag ascent to the
eastward among nopals and rocks that seemed almost impassable.
We managed, nevertheless, to reach the summit of the ridges after an
hour's labor, and beheld Ignacio in the distance, scouring the plain at a
gallop. A shout from our party soon arrested his attention, and wheeling
his horse, he was quickly at our side at full dash over cliff and ravine.
I felt mortified at having lost confidence in him at the village, as we found,
on explanation, that he had been most anxiously engaged in endeavoring
to persuade the Indian to guide us. The savage, however, steadily per
sisted for a long time in refusing to accompany him ; believing that if he
pointed out the fosil remains, we would certainly carry off some of them,
" to which he would never consent, as they were the bones of certain
giants who had been the ancestors of his race !"
I know not by what witchcraft Ignacio managed finally to prevail with
the Indian ; but he pointed him out, waiting for us at the foot of a group
of palmettos on an opposite hill. Thither we quickly ascended; yet,
scarcely had we reached the trees, when the rain commenced pattering
down from the eastward, where it had been brewing as usual for the last
hour around the brow of old Tlaloc.
The day was already far advanced and we had as yet seen nothing of
remarkable interest. At the distance of a couple of leagues to the east
ward, was the edge of the barranca containing the bones ; while, a league
to the west, was the unexplored hill of Tezcosingo. To see both of these
spots on that evening was impossible, and yielding, therefore, to the earn
est solicitation of the Indian, who pointed out to us the resting-place of
the " huesos de sus antepasados" in the clayey soil of the eastern barran-

232 MEXICO.
cas, we gathered together under the shelter of the trees, and partook of
a dinner of dried kid, peppers and pulquS, preparatory to our visit to
Tezcosingo.* t
Directly at the foot of the eminence on which we rested, there was an
extensive Indian remain. By an able system of engineering, the water
had been brought by the ancients. from the eastern sierra, for a distance,
probably, of three leagues, by conduits across barrancas and along the
sides of the hill : and the ruin below us was that of one of these aque
ducts, across a ravine about a hundred feet in elevation.
You will find a view of this work in the opposite picture. The base of
the two conduit pipes is raised to the required level on stones and masonry,
and the canals for the water are made of an exceedingly hard cement,
of mortar and fragments of pounded brick. Although, of course, long
since abandoned, it is, in many places, as perfect as on the day of its com
pletion ; and perhaps as good a work, for all the necessary purposes, as
could be formed at the present day by the most expert engineers.
The view over the valley, to the north, toward the Pyramids of Teoti
huacan, and across the lake to Mexico, was uninterrupted ; and the city
(beyond the waters, surrounded by a mirage on the distant plain,) seemed
placed again, as it was three hundred years ago, in the midst of a beauti
ful lake.
After we had finished our meal, we gave a small compensation to the
conscientious Indian, (who seemed delighted to escape from the medita
ted sacrilege,) and resumed our route toward Tezcosingo. The road,
for a long distance, lay over an extensive table-land, with a deep valley
north and south, filled on both sides with haciendas, villages, and planta
tions. We crossed the shoulder of a mountain, and descended half way
a second ravine, near the eighth of a mile in extent, until we struck the
level of another ancient aqueduct that led the waters directly to the hill
of Tezcosingo. This elevation was broader, firmer, and even in better
preservation, than the first. It may be crossed on horseback — three
abreast. As soon as we struck the celebrated hill we began ascending rapidly,
by an almost imperceptible cattl'e-path, among gigantic cacti, whose thorns
tore our skins as we brushed by them. Over the whole surface, there
were remains of a spiral road cut from the living rock — strewn with frag-
*After ftiy return to Mexico, iii, Ignacio persisted in obtaining some of these "ancestral bones" from the bar
rancas, and, although, the bagfull he sent was nearly ground to powder before it reached rue, there were still
some considerable fragments which I desired to submit to our naturalists for their opinion. They have not yet,
however, arrived in the United States from Vera Cruz.
Latrobe, at page 144, of his Rambles in Mexico, relates that some workmen in excavating for a canal at Cha-
pingo, (a hacienda near Tezcoco,) reached, at the distance of four feet below tlie surface, "an ancient cause
way, of the existence of which there had not been the remotest suspicion. The cedar piles by which the sides
were supported were still sound at heart; and three feet below the edge of this ancient work they struck upon the
entire skeleton of a Mastodon imbedded in blue clay. The diameter of the tusk was eighteen inches. Wherever
extensive excavations have been made on the table-land and in tlie valley, of late years, remains of tliis animal
have almost always been met with. In the foundation of the Church of Guadalupe — on the estate of St, Nich
olas, four leagues to the south, and in Guadalaxara, portions of the skeleton have been discovered." Had the
ancients some means of taming these beasts into laborers for their gigantic architecture 'i

SUMMIT OF TEZCOSINGO. 233
ments of pottery, Indian arrows, and broken sacrificial knives ; while,
occasionally, we passed over the ruins of an aqueduct winding round the
bill. The eminence seems to have been converted, from its base to its
summit, (a distance of perhaps five hundred feet,) into a pile of those
terraced gardens, so much admired by every tourist who falls into rap
tures among the romantic groves of Isola Bella.
Our horses seemed to be better accustomed to the dangerous clamber
ing among these steeps, than ourselves, and we therefore continued in
our saddles until we reached a point about fifty feet below the summit,
where, in a due northerly direction, the rock had been cut into seats along
a recess leading to a perpendicular wall, which is said to have been cov
ered, until recently, with a Toltec Calendar. When the Indians found
that a place, otherwise^o unattractive, was visited by foreigners, they
immediately imagined their ancestors had concealed treasures behind the
stone ; as they supposed that gold, and not mere curiosity could have lured
strangers from a distance to so unsightly a spot. They consequently de
stroyed the carved rock in order to penetrate the hill, and there is now not
a fragment of the ancient sculpture remaining. In the hole, burrowed
by the treasure-finders, we discovered a number of Indians, of both sexes,
sheltering themselves from the rain ; and as they had a supply of nopals,
(with which the surrounding rocks are covered,) we were not loth to dis
mount, and, forgetting our indignation for the moment — crawled into their
cavern to enjoy the luscious fruit.
A few steps upward led us to the summit of Tezcosingo. I found there
no remains of a temple or edifice ; but as the hill is supposed to have been
formerly dedicated to the bloody rites of Indian worship, modern piety has
thought proper to purify the spot by the erection of a cross. And never
was one built on a more majestic and 'commanding site. From its foot,
the entire valley, lake, Tezcoco, Mexico, and lakes far to the north, were
distinctly visible, and the beauty of the panorama was greatly increased
by the sudden clearing of the skies, and an outburst of the setting sun.
Bidding our Indians farewell in their burrow, we descended over massive
fragments of architecture, to a spot where a path terminates abruptly'in a
bastion-like wall, plunging precipitously down the side of the mountain
for two hundred feet. Here we found what is called the "Bath of
Montezuma."

234

MEXICO.

BATH OF MONTEZUMA.

It will be observed in the drawing, that the rock is smoothed to a perfect
level for several yards, around which, seats and grooves are carved
from the adjacent masses. In the centre there is a circular sink, about
a yard and a half in diameter, and a yard in depth, and a square pipe,
with a small aperture, led the water from an aqueduct, which appears to
terminate in this basin. None of the stones have been joined with cement,
but the whole was chiselled from the mountain rock.
The origin and purpose of this work are entirely unknown. The view
from it is secluded and picturesque, over a small glimpse of plain seen
through a frame-work of narrow and shadowy valley ; — but, (as Latrobe
says,) " As to being Montezuma's Bath — it might have been his/ooi-bath,
if you will — but it would be an impossibility for any monarch, of larger
dimensions than Oberon, to take a duck in it !"
Such, however, is the extent of general Mexican antiquarianism ; their
knowledge of history reaches to the reign of the last monarch but one of
the ancient Empire, and if a monument or an idol is not referable to

GROVE OF THE CONTADOR. 235
Montezuma it is disposed of most summarily by the universal — " Quien
sabe !"

It was growing quite late (after descending the hill of Tezcosingo to
the plain at the north of it,) as we passed through the estate of the ex-
Marquis of V  , known as " La Molina," or the Mill. Extensive plant
ations of grain and maguey spread out over a vast expanse of country,
and no buildings are perceptible until you approach the edges of a wide
barranca, traversed by a stream from the mountains, freshening the ver
dure of clusters of shrubbery, that conceal the rocks and rugged sides
of the ravine,. After falling over a number of precipices, as the glen
deepens, and forming some beautiful cascades, the brooklet gradually
spreads out on the flats to the west, and here (niched in the last steeps of
the tangled barranca,) have been erected the lofty dwelling, stores and
mills of the farmer Marquis. Farther up the glen, beyond the dwelling,
and reached by a narrow entrance which almost bars approach, the taste
ful owner has formed the gorge through which the stream gurgles into one
of the most exquisite retreats that can be imagined. The barranca is
quite narrow ; in its centre the brook skims along over a rocky bed ; its
sides have been smoothed and planted ; grassy seats are built around
sward-covered recesses ; rare flowers are imbedded in spots, where,
shielded from the storms, they are ever fresh and blooming ; a tiny
chapel is erected on a jutting rock, and breaks the silence with its silvery
bell ; and, over all, the lofty trees (meeting in a Gothic arch from bank to
bank,) cast their eternal shade throughout the scarcely varying seasons.
It is the most beautiful bijou of rural design that I have seen in Mexico.
Indeed, it is equalled by few, elsewhere, and may be regarded as the more
remarkable, as the whole has been formed out of what was once but an
unsightly gully.
12th October. We rode to-day to the Contador, another relic of Monte
zuma. It is a noble grove of cypresses, about a league northwest of
Tezcoco. It was, however, not only our intention to see those trees ; but
Don Ignacio had eagerly persuaded us to join him in a plover?shooting
expedition, on the marsh lands near the lake. I was, therefore, as you
may well imagine, exceedingly surprised to find our guide waiting at
his door, to accompany us, mounted on a bull! My first disposition was
to laugh ; but he prevented it by a smile, and a request to " wait until
we got among the chichiquillotes, and see what a sportsman his beast
was !" Tio is remarkable for his hunting strategy ; and, besides his
bull, (with which he hunts even in the mountains,) he has invented
a pipe that perfectly counterfeits the bleating of deer ; and by its sound
he has often attracted a dozen around him, while lying concealed in the
coverts of the forest. Upon the whole, he is a perfect Yankee in inventive
talent for the destruction of game ; and I doubt not that, if it were his

236 MEXICO.
lot to live for a season on the banks of the Chesapeake, he would manage
to convert himself occasionally into a stalk of " wild celery," to decoy the
canvas-backs within reach of his weapon. *

A ride of an hour over flats, partially covered with wretched looking
salt-works, brought us to the grove of the Contador, which had been dis
tinctly visible as soon as we left the garden suburb of Tezcoco.
Our party led their horses toward some higher ground, north of the
square, which is formed by a double line of magnificent cypresses, near
five hundred in number, and inclosing about ten acres of ground — while
I (although warned by Ignacio) kept on to the interior of the grove, in
tending to coast around the trees in expectation of finding abundance of
game. After lingering for half an hour in the grove, and finding my
labor useless, I thought it best to take a short cut across the square in
order to reach my companions ; but, scarcely had my horse advanced a
dozen paces over the apparently solid earth, when he suddenly halted
and snorted, as if unwilling to proceed. I applied both whip and spur ;
and, in the next moment, he was above his girths — sinking in a morass!
I sprang immediately on top of the saddle, and, seizing the lasso, leaped
to the last spot where the animal had stood firmly. In the meantime my
poor beast was sinking deeper and deeper — and when, by dint of the whip
and encouragement, I brought his head around, he had already sunk to
the saddle-cloth. Rolling himself slightly on his side, he made room to
lift his legs, and thus, gradually floundered out of the deceptive marsh.
When I rejoined my friends, they congratulated me on escaping as for
tunately as I had done.
At the northwestern angle of this square I found a double row of
cypresses, running westwardly toward a dyke. North of this again, I
discovered a deep tank, of oblong shape, neatly walled with cut stone,
and filled with water. Of the great antiquity of all these remains
there can be no doubt, and it struck me that the interior of the cypress
square was once a pond or mimic lake, filled no doubt from the neighbor
ing Tezcoco, and forming part of the gardens of the luxurious monarchs.
Unless this were the case, it is difficult to account for the spongy and
yielding mass in the centre of the grove, while the surrounding grounds
are dry and cultivated.
After lingering in the pleasant shade for an hour, and amusing our
selves with rifle-shooting at zopilotes perched on the highest branches of
the cypresses, we started off (marshalled by tio on his bull Sancho,)
toward the marshes that lay between the grove and town. Just as we
were passing through a small Indian village near the salt-works, a thun
der storm came on, and we immediately took shelter in the house of one
of Ignacio's numerous acquaintances. The worthy man was a candle-
maker by trade, and had a manufactory in full blast in the adjoining

ANODDSPORTSMAN. 237
room. The neighborhood, of course, was anything but fragrant ; yet he
drove out a couple of sheep, chickens and turkeys from a corner — ar
ranged our saddles for chairs on the earthen floor — and we were soon
enjoying a refreshing lunch of tortillias and pulque.
After the shower had passed we again sallied forth, and reaching the
marshy flats, amused ourselves with watching the operations of Ignacio,
instead of making war ourselves upon the delicate birds. After wander
ing about for some time without starting game, Ignacio at last perceived
a flock alight a hundred yards to the north of him. He dismounted
immediately — waved his hand to us to remain quiet — crouched behind
the bull, and putting the animal in motion, in the direction of the birds,
they both crept on together until within gunshot. Here, by a twitch at
his tail, the beast was stopped, and began munching the tasteless grass
as eagerly as if gratifying a relishing appetite. Ignacio then slowly
raised his head to a level with the bull's spine and surveyed the field of
battle, while the birds paddled about the fens unconscious of danger.
Although evidently within good shooting distance, the tio discovered that
he had not precisely got a raking range; and therefore, again dodging
behind his rampart, put the bull in motion for the required spot. This
attained, he levelled his gun on the animal's back and fired — honest
Sanoho never stirring his head from the grass ! Several birds fell, while
the rest of the flock, seeing nothing but an unbelligerent bull, scarcely
flew more than a dozen yards before they alighted again — and thus, the
conspiring beast and sportsman sneaked along, from shot to shot, until
nearly the whole flock was bagged !
The result of the afternoon's work was a plentiful platter, around
which we gathered in the hospitable dwelling of L  ; and not the
least entertainment of the evening was a song from the "tio" and a wild
dance called "ihe Zopiloie," which he accomplished after several supple
mentary tumblers of capital pulque.
12th October. Although our researches in this neighborhood are fin
ished, we can to-day get no conveyance to Mexico. There is not a
vehicle to be had in the town ; the boats do not leave until to-morrow,
and I feel indisposed to undergo the fatigue and exposure of a day's jour
ney on horseback over the plains between the lakes.
I have therefore resolved to wait for the Indian canoes, and, in the
meantime, will connect some sketches of interesting ruins that I find in
memoranda made by me during the study of various authors who have
written on American and Mexican antiquities.
I do so, because the works in which these subjects are discussed are
exceedingly expensive, and rarely to be found either in this country or
in Europe ; and I desire, moreover, to show how completely the whole
of this country has, at one time, been covered with an active and intelli
gent population, the only hints of whose history are left in the ruins of
their splendid architecture.

AN ACCOUNT

OF

ANCIENT REMAINS

ON THIS CONTINENT.

Mounds and tumul-i covering human relics, have been traced from
Wales across the continent, through Russia and Tartary. I have been
able to find no account of these works on the western side of the Rocky
mountains, or in the direction of Behring's Straits ; but, from the limits
of Ouiskonsin, they constantly increase in number and extent.*
On the south side of Ontario, one of these remains, not far from Black
river, is, I am informed, the farthest that has been discovered ih a north
eastern direction. One on the Chenango river, at Oxford, is the farthest
south on the eastern side of the Alleghanies, of undoubted and untradi-
tional antiquity.
In travelling westwardly toward Lake Erie, some are to be found in
Genessee County, but they are scarce and small until we arrive at Cat
taraugus Creek, where, according to the late Governor Clinton, a chain
of forts commences, extending southwardly upward of fifty miles, at a
distance from each other of not more than four or five.
South of these again, extensive works were discovered at Circleville,
at Chillicothe, at the mouth of the Scioto and Muskingum, at Cincin
nati, at St. Louis, and at numerous points along the Valleys of the Ohio
and Mississippi.
Among these tumuli and fortifications, a variety of interesting relics
have been found by their explorers. Vessels of earthenware, utensils
of copper, painted pottery, vases of curious form, copper beads, and cir
cular plates of the same material, carvings in stone, silver and gold orna
ments; and, at Natchez and near Nashville, idols of stone, which are not
unlike those heretofore represented in my letters as existing in Mexico.
Drawings of these idols are given in the Archceologia Americana, at pages
211 and 215 of the first volume.
* Most interesting accounts, accompanied by plates, of the ancient remains in Ouiskonsin Territory, and on
the great war path from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan, are to be found in the January number of Silliman's
Journal for 1&43, and also in tlie :}lth volume of that valuable work.

INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 239
Extensive mural remains are scattered over the immense plain, from
the southern shore of Lake Erie to the Gulf of Mexico, and may be
traced around the Gulf, across Texas into New Mexico, increasing in
size and splendor as they advance toward the south. The student who de
sires to examine the subject more minutely, may refer to the before-men
tioned volume of the Archseologia Americana, where he will find a long
and interesting treatise by Mr. Attwater ; — the plates of which will illus
trate the size and character of these works more satisfactorily than any
mere verbal descriptions.
I have thus traced a continuous chain of structures, chiefty of earthen
mounds, an&trifling relics pertaining to the necessaries of life, defence,
and worship, throughout the greater portion of our western territory until
it joins the soil of Mexico. I will now proceed with the account of such
antiquities, of an architectural character, besides those already described
by me, as have come to my knowledge in the latter Republic.
In the year 1773, the Padre Francisco Garces, accompanied by Padre
Font, in the course of their travels in the northern departments of Mex
ico, arrived at a vast and beautiful plain on the south bank of the river
Gila, running westwardly from the great chain of the Rocky mountains,
and falling into the Gulf of California between the thirty-third and thirty-
fourth degrees of north latitude. There the travellers discovered remains
of extensive works and ruins, covering a square league of ground, in
the midst of which was an edifice, called by them the " Casa Grande."
Like most of the Indian works, it was built of unburned bricks, and
measured about four hundred and fifty feet in length, by two hundred
and fifty in breadth. Within this edifice they found traces of five apart
ments. A wall, broken at intervals by lofty towers, surrounded the build
ing, and appeared to have been designed for defence. The remains of
a canal were still perceptible, by which the waters of the Gila had been
conveyed to the ruined town.
The neighboring plains were covered (like the ruins I have recently
described at Tezcoco and Tezcosingo,) with fragments of obsidian, and
glazed and painted pottery ; the Indians of the vicinity were found by
the explorers to be mild, civil, and intelligent people, devoted to ihe culti
vation of the soil, and possessing in no degree the ferocity or savage hab
its of the Cumanches or Apaches.
Northwestwardly from Chihuahua, and southwestwardly from these
ruins, near the thirtieth degree of latitude, are similar remains ; and in
the mountains in the latitude of 27° 28', there is a multitude of caverns
excavated from the solid rocks, on the sides and walls of which are
painted the figures of various animals, and of men and women, in dresses
by no means unlike the habiliments of the ancient Mexicans, as de
picted in drawings and pictures that have been preserved until our day,

240 MEXICO.
Some of the caves discovered by Father Joseph Rotea, are described as
being thirty feet in length by fifteen in breadth, and are supposed by
writers to have been, perhaps, the "seven abodes" from which the.Mexi-
can tradition describes their ancestors as having issued when they be
gan their emigration.
QUEMADA.

Noeth of the city of Mexico, in the department of Zacatecas, (a coun"
try that is supposed to have been inhabited by the Chicimecas and Otto-
mies at the period of the conquest,) situated on the level of a hfll top,
which rises out of the plain like another Acropolis, are the extensive re
mains of an Indian city, known as the " Ruins of Quemada."*
The northern side of the cerro rises with an easy slop e from the plain,
and is guarded by bastions and a double wall, while, on the other sides,
the steep and precipitous rocks of the hill' itself, form natural defences.
The whole of this elevation is covered with ruins ; but on the southern
side, chiefly, may be traced the remains of temples, pyramids, and edi
fices for the priests, cut from the living rock, and rising to the height of
from two to four hundred feet above the level of the surrounding country.
These rock-built walls are sometimes joined by mortar of no great te
nacity, and the stones (many of which are twenty-two feet in thickness,
and of a corresponding height,) are retained in their positions mainly by
their own massiveness.
The opposite engraving represents the patio, or courtyard of a temple,
as drawn by M. Nebel. On the back part of the square is raised the
pyramid, or teocalli, on which was placed the altar and idol. The stairs
behind the teocalli conduct to other temples and pyramids beyond, and
served, perhaps, as seats for the spectators of the bloody rites that were
celebrated by the priests.
The most satisfactory account I have seen of these ruins, is given by
Captain Lyon in a volume of his travels in Mexico.
" We set out," says he, "on our expedition to the Cerro de los Edifi-
cios, 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
a causeway ninety -three feet broad, commencing at four hundred feet
from the cliff.
" A space of about six acres has been inclosed by a broad wall, of
which the foundations are still visible, running first to the south and after
ward to the east. Off its southwestern 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 closer examination its figure could
* This name has been given from that of an adjacent hacienda.

RUINS OF QUEMAflA.

RUINS OF QUEMADA. 241
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 northeast until it reaches the ascent of the
cliff, which, as I have already observed, is about four hundred yards dis
tant. 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 inner 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 could trace, notwithstanding the accumulation of
earth and vegetation, a 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 still 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 southeast 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 view of the plain which lies to the south
and west is hence 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, entirely surrounded by perfect
walls of the same height and thickness as the former one, and measuring
one hundred and fifty-four feet by one hundred and thirty-seven. In this
were yet standing fourteen very well-constructed pillars, of equal dimen
sions with that in the adjoining inclosure, 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 the 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, and is yet visible in those places
which are sheltered from the rains. Rich grass was growing in the spa
cious court where Aztec monarchs may once have feasted ; and our cat
tle 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
feot wide. These form the outer defensive boundary of the mountain,
16

242 MEXICO.
which from its figure has materially favored their construction. There
is every reason to believe that this eastern face must have been of great
importance. A slightly raised and paved causeway of about twenty-five
feet 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 distance, until 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 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, that it 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 whence he received the information, that it was once surmounted by
a statue. Off the southeast corner of this building and at about fifteen
yards distant, is to be seen the edge of a circle of stones about eight feet
in diameter, inclosing, as far as we could judge on 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 evi
dently darkened by an admixture of soot or ashes. At the distance of
one hundred yards southwest 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 toward the declivity, the height is eighteen feet;
and apparently there have been steps by which to descend to a quadran
gular space, having a broad terrace round it, and extending east one hun
dred feet by a width of fifty. In the centre of this inclosure 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
to a certain extent, so as to derive advantage from the natural abruptness
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, one 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 en-
tered by a broad opening between two perfect and massive walls, to a

RUINS OF QUEMADA. 243
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 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 inclosed square of two hun
dred 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 with 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
which 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
bv five in height. The summit is imperfect, but it 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 inclosed spaces,
apparently portions of an aqueduct leading from some tanks on the sum
mit of the mountain ; and then were shown the mouth of the cave, or sub
terraneous passage, of which so mamy superstitious stories are yet told
and believed. One of the principal objects of our expedition had been to
enter this mysterious place, which none of the natives had ever ventured
to do, and we came provided with torches for the purpose : unfortunately,
nowever, 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 sup
ported the roof, but its removal by the country people had caused the
dilapidation which we now observed. Mr. Tindal, in knocking out some
pieces of regularly burnt brick, soon brought a ruin upon his head, but
escaped without injury ; and his 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 upon the natives, who
became more than ever persuaded that an immense treasure lay hidden
in this mysterious place. The general opinion of those who remember
the excavation is, that it was very deep ; and, from many circumstances,
there is a probability of its having been a place of confinement for vic
tims. Its vicinity to the great hall, in which there can be little doubt that
the sanguinary rites of the Mexicans were once held, is one argument in
favor of this supposition ; but there is another equally forcible — its im
mediate proximity to a cliff of about one hundred and fifty feet, down
which the bodies of victims may have been precipitated, as was the cus-
16*

244 MEXICO.
torn at the inhuman sacrifices of the Aztecs.* A road or causeway, to
be noticed in another place, terminates at the foot of this precipice, ex.
actly beneath the cave and overhanging rock ; and conjecture can form
no other idea of its intended utility, unless as being in some manner con
nected with the purposes of 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 other
buildings, which had at first escaped my notice. These were situated on
the summit of a rock terminating the ridge, at about half a mile to the N.
N.W. 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 have been steps by which to
ascend to the 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 north
ward, advantage is taken of a precipice to construct another wall of
twelve feet in width upon 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 northeast 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 bare 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 to those works, which I have ventured to name the
Citadel. There is no doubt that the greater mass of the nation which
once dwelt here, must have been established upon 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 runs southwest 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, imme
diately beyond the river, toward the hacienda of La Quemada. We
could trace the second, south and southwest to a small rancho named
Coyote, about four miles distant ; and the third ran southwest by south,
still farther, ceasing, as the country people informed us, at a moun
tain six miles distant. All the'se roads had been slightly raised, were
* The writings of Clavigero, Sous, Bernal Diaz, and others, describe this mode of disposing of tlie bodies of
those whose hearts had been torn out and offered to the idol.

RUINS OF QUEMADA. 245
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 animals of burthen, must naturally have
preferred the smooth, earthy footways, which presented themselves on
every side, to these roughly paved ones. If this be allowed, it is not dif
ficult to suppose that they were the centre of streets of huts, which, being
in those times 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 strewed with stones, which may once have formed build
ing materials for the town ; and there are extensive modern walls round
the cattle farms, which, not improbably, were constructed from the near
est streets. At all events, whatever end these causeways may have an
swered, the citadel itself still remains, and from its size and strength
confirms the accounts given by Cortez, Bernal Diaz, and others of the
conquerors, of the magnitude and extent of the Mexican edifices, but
which have been doubted by Robertson, De Pau, and others. We ob
served also, in some sheltered places, the remains of good plaster, con
firming the accounts above alluded to ; and there can be little doubt that
the present rough, yet magnificent buildings, were once encased in wood
and whitened, as ancient Mexico, the towns of Yucatan, Tobasco, and
many other places are described to have been.*
"The Cerro de los 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 building-materials for the edifices
which crown its summit. We saw no remnants of obsidian among the
ruins or on the plain — which is remarkable, as being the general sub
stance of which the knives and arrow-heads of the Mexicans were
formed ;f but a few pieces of a very compact porphyry were lying about,
and some appeared to have been chipped to a rude form resembling arrow-

" 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 people in the
neighborhood, 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 Abbe Clavigero's History of Mexico,
which throws some light on the subject. ' The situation of Chicomoztoc,
where the Mexicans sojourned nine years, is not known ; but it appears
to be that place, twenty miles distant from Zacatecas, toward the south,
where there are still some remains of an immense edifice, which, accord-
* See the Voyage of Juan de Grijalva, in 1518 ; also Bernal Diaz, Cortez, Clavigero, and others.
t It is not improbable, however, that this material was unknown to the nation who dwelt here, if, according
to the Abbe Clavigero, this city was one of the earliest settlements of the Aztecs, before they established them
selves in the Valley of Mexico, near which (at Real del Monte principally) the obsidian Is found in great abun
dance, although I believe that no traces of it are seen in the more northern provinces.

246

MEXICO.

ing to the tradition of the Zacatecanos, the ancient inhabitants of that
country, was the work of the Aztecs on 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.' "*

MAPILCA.
Following the course of the river Tecolutla from its mouth near
Nautla, and directing himself across the Virgin mountains and plains, Mr.
Nebel found, at the distance of a few leagues from Papantla, the ruins
of a city, near an Indian rancho called Mapilca.
It is impossible, he states, to define precisely the limits of this ancient
work, because it is now entirely covered with thick vegetation, and a
forest, the silence of which has, perhaps, never been disturbed by an axe.
He nevertheless discovered some pyramids, many large sculptured stones,
and some other indications of an extensive city and civilized people.

SCULPTURED STONE AT MAPILCA.
* Clavigero, vol. i. book ii. p. 153.— Torquemada says, that Uie capital city of the Chechemecas was called
Amaquemacan. He says this place was 600 miles distant from where the city of Guadalaxara now stands.
Clavigero, who quotes this passage and comments upon it in a note, remarks that " in more than one thousand twn
hundred miles of inhabited country beyond that city, there is not the least trace or memory of Amaquemacan.
!\T/i.y not the city! have described be the capital in question 1

TEMPLE AT TUSAPAN.

RUINS OF TUSAPAN. 247
The stone, represented in the cut, is twenty-one feet long and of compact
granite ; its carving is oddly different from anything else we have seen
among Mexican antiquities, and it is supposed, by Nebel, to have formed
part of an edifice. He caused an excavation to be made by the Indians in
front of this fragment, and, at a short distance below the surface, struck
upon a road formed of irregular stones, not unlike the ancient pavements
in the neighborhood of Rome. The picturesque traveller (whose book, I
regret, is too large and expensive for republication in our country,) ex
ceedingly regrets that he was unable to prosecute his inquiries and exam
inations in this neighborhood. He was alone, and unaided in the forests,
except by a few idle and ignorant Indians ; yet he has presented his
readers with a drawing of this curious fragment, as the sign of a civili
zation that once reigned in a country which was hitherto imagined to have
been inhabited alone by wild beasts and reptiles.

TUSAPAN.

We have now advanced, in the course of this examination, into the
tierra caliente, near the eastern coast of Mexico. Fifteen leagues west
from Papantla, lie the remains of Tusapan", supposed to have been a city
of the Totonacos. They are situated in the lap of a small plain at the
foot of the Cordillera, and are relics of a town of but limited extent.
Of all these, however, nothing remains in great distinctness but the pyr
amidal monument, or Teocalli, of which the opposite drawing is given by
Nebel. This edifice has a base line of thirty feet on every side, and is built of
irregular stones. A single stairway leads to the upper part of the first
story, on which is erected a quadrangular house or tower, — while, in
front of the door, still stands the pedestal of the idol, though all traces
of the figure itself are gone. The interior of this apartment is twelve feet
square, and the roof terminates in a point like the exterior. The walls
have evidently been painted, but the outlines of the figures are no longer
distinguishable. The door and the two friezes are formed of sculptured stones ; but it is
evident from the fragments of carving, and a variety of figures of men
and animals that lie in heaps about the rest of the city, that this temple
was, in point of adornment, by no means the most splendid edifice of
Tusapan. Nebel has also presented us with a drawing of the following singular
monument, which he found among the ruins of this ancient city.

248

MEXICO.

FOUNTAIN AT TUSAPAN.

It is a statue, nineteen feet high, cut from the solid rock. The dress
clearly indicates the figure to be that of a squatting woman, with her head
inclining on one side. Behind the head, there are remains of a pipe con
veying water to the body, through which it passed somewhat in the style of
the celebrated fountain of Antwerp. From this figure, the stream was car
ried by a small canal to the neighboring city, and the whole is supposed,
by Monsieur Nebel, to have been dedicated as the idol of some god or
goddess of the waters.
There is a tradition extant that the people who once inhabited Tusapan,
finding their soil comparatively steril, and their springs failing, emigrated
to Papantla, — to which we come next in the course of our antiquarian
ramble.
PAPANTLA.

The village of that name lies sixteen leagues from the sea, and fifty-
two north from Vera Cruz, at the base of the eastern mountains, in the
midst of fertile savannahs, constantly watered by streams from the neigh-

VMItl »F I'APAN H>

RUINS OF PAPANTLA, 249
boring hills. Although it is the centre of a country remarkable for
fertility,* the Indian village has scarcely a white inhabitant, with the ex
ception of the Curate and some few dealers, who come from the coast to
traffic their wares for the products of the soil. The people of the upper
country dislike to venture into the heat and disease of the tierra caliente ;
and, in turn, its inhabitants dislike an exposure to the chills of the tierras
frias or templadas. Thus the region of Papantla, two leagues from the
village, has hitherto remained an unexplored nook, even at the short dis
tance of fifty miles from the coast ; and, although it was alluded to by
Baron Humboldt, it had never been correctly drawn, or even accurately
described before the visit of M. Nebel. The neighboring Indians, even,
had scarcely seen it, and considerable local knowledge was required to
trace a path to the relic through the wild and tangled forest.
There is no doubt, from the masses of ruins spread over the plain, that
this city was more than a mile and a half in circuit. Although there
seems good reason to believe that it was abandoned by its builders after
the conquest, there has still been time enough, both for the growth of the
forest in so warm and prolific a climate, and for the gradual destruction
of the buildings by the seasons and other causes. Indeed, huge trees,
trailing plants and parasite vines have struck their roots among the cran
nies and joints of the remaining pyramid, and, in a few years more, will
consign even that remnant to the common fate of the rest of the city.
The opposite plate presents a view of the pyramid, (called by the
natives, " El Tajin,") as seen by Nebel, after he had cleared it of trees
and foliage. It consists of seven stories, each following the same angle
of inclination, and' each terminated, as at Xochicalco, by a frieze and
cornice. The whole of these bodies are constructed of sand-stone, neatly
squared and joined, — and covered, to the depth of three inches, with a
strong cement, which appears, from the remains of color in many places, to
have been entirely painted. The pyramid measures precisely one hun
dred and twenty feet on every side,")" and is ascended, in front, by a stair
way of fifty-seven steps, divided in three places, by small box-like recesses
or niches two feet in depth, similar to those which are seen perforating
the frieze of each of the bodies. This stairway terminates at the top of
the sixth story, the seventh appearing (although in ruins,) to have been
unlike the rest, and hollow. Here, most probably, was the shrine of the
divinity and the place of sacrifice.^

* The productions here are vanilla, sarsaparilla, pepper, wax, cotton, coffee, tobacco, a variety of valuable
woods, and sugar, produced annually from canes, which it is necessary to plant only every seven or eight years.
f Nebel does not give the elevation, but says there are 57 steps to the top of the sixth story— each step meas
uring one foot in height.
t Vide Humboldt, vol. ii., 315-and Nebel.

250 MEXICO.
MISANTLA.

Passing by the Island of Sacrificios, (of which I have already given
some account, when treating of the Museum of Mexico,) I will now de
scribe the ruins that were discovered as recently as 1835, adjacent to
Misantla, near the city of Jalapa and not very far from the direct road
to the Capital.
The work from which I extract my information is the Mosaico Mexi.
cano, to which it was contributed, I believe, by Don Isidrio Gondra.
On a lofty ridge of mountains in the Canton of Misantla, there is a hill
called Estillero, (distant some thirty miles from Jalapa,) near which lies
a mountain covered with a narrow strip of table-land, perfectly isolated
from the surrounding country by steep rocks and inaccessible barrancas.
Beyond these dells and precipices there is a lofty wall of hills, from the
summit of one of which the sea is distinctly visible in the direction of
Nautla. The only parts of the country by which this plain is accessi.
ble, are the slopes of Estillero ; — on all other sides the solitary mountain
seems to have been separated from the neighboring land by some violent
earthquake that sunk the earth to an unfathomed depth.
On this secluded and isolated eminence, are situated the remains of an
ancient city. As you approach the plain by the slopes of Estillero, a
broken wall of large stones, united by a weak cement, is first observable.
This appears to have served for protection to a circular plaza, in the cen
tre of which is a pyramid eighty feet high, forty-nine feet front, and forty-
two in depth.
The account does not state positively whether this edifice is constructed
of stone, but it is reasonable to suppose that it is so from the wall found
around the. plaza, and the remains which will be subsequently mentioned.
It is divided into three stories, or rather, there are three still remaining.
On the broadest front, a stairway leads to the second body, which, in turn,
is ascended at the side, while the top of the third is reached by steps cut
in the corner edge of the pyramid. In front of the teocalli, on the second
story, are two pilastral columns, which may have formed part of a stair
case ; but this portion of the pyramid, and especially the last body, is so
overgrown with trees that its outline is considerably injured. On the very
top, (driving its roots into the spot that was doubtless formerly the holy
place of the Temple,) there is a gigantic tree, which, from its immense
size in this comparatively high and temperate region, denotes a long period
since the abandonment of the altar where it grows.
At the periphery of the circular plaza around this pyramid, commence
the remains of a town, extending northerly in a straight line for near a
league. Immense square blocks of stone buildings, separated by streets
at the distance of about three hundred yards from each other, mark the

3|P

!'£-"*s53

5^4/

PYRAMID OF JIISANTI.A.

RUINS OF MISANTLA AND MITLA.

251

sites of the ancient habitations, fronting upon four parallel highways.
In some of the houses the walls are still three or four feet high, but of
most of them there is nothing but an outline tracery of the mere founda
tions. On the south, there are the remains of a long and narrow wall,
which defended the city in that quarter.
North of the town there is a tongue of land, occupied in the centre by
a mound, or cemetery. On the left slope of the hill by which the ruins
are reached, there are, also, twelve circular sepulchres, two yards and a
half in diameter, and as many high ; the walls are all of neatly cut
stone, but the cement with which they were once joined has almost en
tirely disappeared. In these sepulchres several bodies were found, parts
of which were in tolerable preservation.
Two stones — a foot and a half long, by half a foot wide — were discov
ered, bearing hieroglyphics, which are described, in general terms, as
"resembling the. usual hieroglyphics of the Indians." Another figure
was found representing a man standing ; and another, cut out of a firm
but porous stone, which was intended to portray a person sitting cross-
legged, with the arms also crossed, resting on his knees. This, however,
was executed in a very inferior style. Near it, were discovered many
domestic utensils, which were carried to Vera Cruz, whence they have
been dispersed, perhaps, to the four quarters of the globe.
It is thus, in the neglect of all antiquities in Mexico, in the midst of
her political distractions and bloody revolutions, that every vestige of her
former history will gradually pass to foreign countries, instead of enrich
ing the Cabinets of her University, and stimulating the inquisitiveness of
her scientific students.

MITLA.

I will close this notice of Mexican Architectural Remains, with an
account of the ruins of Mitla, as described by Mr. Glennie, and Baron
Humboldt, from whose great work the sketch of one of the mural frag
ments opposite the next page, has been taken.
In the Department of Oaxaca, ten leagues distant from the city of that
name, on the road to Tehuantepec, in the midst of a granitic country,
surrounded by sombre and gloomy scenery, lie the remains of what have
been called, by the general consent of antiquarians, the Sepulchral
Palaces of Mitla. According to tradition, they were built by the Zapo-
tees, and intended as the places of sepulture for their Princes. At the
death of members of the royal family, their bodies were entombed in the
vaults beneath ; and the sovereign and his relatives retired to mourn over
the loss of the departed scion, in the chambers above these solemn abodes,
screened by dark and silent groves from the public eye. Another tra
dition devotes the edifices to a sect of priests, whose duty it was to live

252 „ MEXICO.
in perfect seclusion, and offer expiatory sacrifices for the royal dead who
reposed in the vaults beneath.
The village of Mitla was formerly called Miguitlan, signifying, in the
Mexican tongue, " a place of sadness;" and, by the Zapotecs, Leoba or
"The tomb."
These palace-tombs formed three edifices, symmetrically placed on a
romantic site. The principal building (which is still in the best pres
ervation,) has a length of near one hundred and fifty feet. A stairway
leads to a subterranean apartment of about one hundred feet by thirty in
width, the walls of which are covered with ornaments, a la grique, simi-
lar to those that adorn the exterior walls represented in the drawing.
These ornaments are inlaid in a mosaic of porphyritic stones, and resem
ble the figures found on Etruscan vases, and on the frieze of the temple
of the god Redicolus, near the Egerian grotto at Rome.
The engraved fragment represents a corner of one of the edifices, and
you cannot fail to remark a similarity to some of the designs presented to
the public by Mr. Catherwood, in his researches farther south.
The ruins of Mitla are distinguished, I believe, from all the remains of
ancient architecture in Mexico, by six columns of porphyry, placed in the
midst of a large saloon, and supporting the ceiling. They have neither
bases nor capitals, and are cut, in a gradually tapering shape, from a solid
stone rather more than fifteen feet in length. The dimensions of the
stones that cover the entrances of the principal halls, are stated by Mr.
Glennie to be as follows :

1

Length.
19 feet 6 inches.

Breadth.
4 feet 10 inches.

Thickness.
3 feet 4 inches.

2

18 " 8 "

4 " 10 "

3 " 6 "

3

19 " 4 "

4 " 10£ "

3 " 9 "

Mr. De Laguna has discovered, among the ruins, some curious paint
ings of war trophies and sacrifices ; and Humboldt remarks, that the
distribution of the apartments in the interior of this building presents
some striking similarities to the monuments of Upper Egypt, as de
scribed by Mr. Denon, and the savans of the Institute of Cairo. "In
comparing the grandeur of these tombs with the meanness of the habita
tions of the former race," says the Baron, " we may exclaim, with Dio-
dorus Siculus, that there are people who erect their most sumptuous
monuments for their dead alone, regarding existence as too short and
transitory to be worth the trouble of erections for the living !"")"
It was the same in Egypt. The hereafter, and not the present, en
gaged the hearts of its ancient race. In Mexico, the temple to worship
in, and the tomb for final repose, seem to have been the chief care of the
* The reader will find a ground plan of these remains in Delaheld's "Antiquities of America"— page 55, taken
from Baron Humboldt's Atlas.
t Vide Humboldt, vol. ii, page 322. et seq. Paris odition, 1811.

¦- ¦*' ¦-- ¦- i-y..' ~S§|fe

Srale of Varas.

r.l'IV? AT MITLA.

THEHONESTHUNTER. 253
people. It was a pious and philosophic devotion of time, worthy as well
of Christian nations as of those believing in the necessary care of their
worthless bodies, until the period of their ultimate reunion with the spirit.
I have thus hastily gathered together some sketches of the remains that
cover our Continent from the remote north of our own possessions to near
the region of Mr. Stephens's discoveries.
If they fail to identify the Southern nations with the Northern tribes, or
to prove that the rude mound of the savage was but the precursor of
the stone pyramid of the civilized southern, they will at least serve to
show that at the north, as well as in more genial climates, there have
been races who worshipped the Great Spirit, buried their dead, defended
themselves from their foes, and possessed, at least, a partial taste for the
refinements of life. At all events, it is not probable that the remains so
plentifully sprinkled over the Mexican territory, from the Rio Gila to the
limits of Oaxaca, were untenanted and unused at the period of the con
quest, while it is known that the cities of Mexico and of Cholula contained
within their limits magnificent edifices, devoted to the domestic comfort
and public worship of a refined and numerous population.

HOME.

14ih October. Returned to Mexico. The last person who bade us fare
well in Tezcoco, was the worthy Tio Ignacio — of whose hunting-bull,
deer-call, rough honesty, and wild adventures, I shall long retain a pleas
ing recollection.
"I am poor, Caballero," said he, with a grasp of his hard hand, "I am
poor, and have led a dog's life of it from the age of five years — fighting,
bull-catching, beef-selling, hunting and living with the Indians up in the
mountains for weeks, with no covering but my blanket and a pine tree ; —
but I have managed, nevertheless, to raise a large family of boys, every
one of whom can ride better than I can ; catch a bull at full gallop ; know
how to read and write ; tell the truth ; obey their father without question
ing, and hit the mark at eighty varas ! I owe no man a claco. I love
my horse, my gun, my pulque, — and, better than all, I love my old wife,
who, with all my wildness, passion, and temper, has never quarrelled
with me in a casamiento of twenty years ! Who says as much in Mexico ?
Vaya !
" Come to Tezcoco once more, Caballero, and we will go up to Tlaloc —
together with my people, the Indians, and I'll make that old demonio give
up some of the bones of his ancestors — picaro ! Adios !"

LETTER XXV.
WHENCE CAME THE ANCIENT POPULATION ? WHO BUILT THE ANCIENT CITIES ?
WHO WOESHIPPED THE IDOLS ?

After this somewhat extended inspection of the Monuments of Mexi
can antiquity, the question naturally proposes itself to our minds : — Who
were the builders of these temples, the worshippers of the idols, and
whence did they come*? Separated now by wide and lonely seas from the
Continents of the Old World, was there once a period when the lands were
united, and the same race spread over both 1 Or, are we to doubt the
traditional and written histories of ages, and believe that an original race
peopled the American wilds, and built and worshipped after the prompt
ings of their own spirits ?
These are questions that have puzzled and must continue to puzzle the
antiquarians of both hemispheres. They cannot be solved. The tradi
tions — the habits — the languages — the edifices — of all tribes, races, and
nations, have been studied and contrasted without result. Separate theo
ries have been earnestly and ingeniously advanced. First, that the
inhabitants came by the north and through Behring's Straits. Second,
that they came by the islands of the Pacific, or that in times long past,
the Pacific was not all sea, but partly filled, perhaps, with a vast Conti
nent — and Third, that they may have arrived from the Old World by the
Atlantic. There are long periods of unwritten and even untraditional
history of the world, and learned and pious geologists seem now to be
agreed in believing that when it is declared : " In the beginning God cre
ated the heaven and the earth," it is not affirmed that God created the
heaven and the earth on the first day, but that " this ' beginning ' may have
been an epoch, at an unmeasured distance, followed by periods of unde
fined duration, during which all the physical operations disclosed by geol
ogy were going on."*
This is certainly satisfactory as to the formation of the earth — a
mere fulcrum for the development and powers of a future human race.
But, must not the Bible be considered a full historical account of "all
the operations of the Creator in times and places with which that human
•Buckland.vol. i, p.26.

PEOPLING OF AMERICA. 255
race is concerned 1" Is it daring to question this ? How small is the
geographical space covered by the history of the Old Testament ! It is
an established fact, that the whole of the animal races are not common to
both Continents. A great variety of quadrupeds have been found in
America that were unknown in Europe, and the same is true in regard
to birds and fish.
It is difficult to touch this question, without interfering with the authority
of the Pentateuch ; but if we were at liberty to discuss such matters, there
are few who would not hold the doctrine, that it is perfectly reconcilable
with rational science to believe, that the two Continents existed contempo
raneously from the oldest periods, filled with distinct races, of separate
customs, manners, habits and languages ; who, by the simple and natural
impulses of humanity arrived at similar results, in religion, science, archi
tecture and government. Animals found in both hemispheres arrive at
the same results — why may not man ? It is replied, that they are guided
alone by instincts ? Is it not by his instincts, improved by his reason,
that man, too, is led to every operation of his varied life 1 By the ruins
which are left, of what those instincts and reason once produced on this
Continent, we are alone enabled to judge of our ancestors. Defence — pro
tection from the weather — religion — the calculation of time — the necessity
of food ; — these are the chief instinctive wants and promptings of man's
nature. Men suffer from the seasons, from sun and shower, — hence dwel
lings. Men have a natural feeling of adoration, gratitude, dependence, —
hence religion, groves, altars, mounds, and even pyramids, as they advance
in civilization. Men behold the natural changes of day and night; the
motion of the sun, moon and stars ; they note that there is an equality
of time and season, and that these are comparatively of longer or shorter
duration at different periods of the year, — and hence a calendar. Men
are social, and congregate into societies, and in the process of time their
natural passions beget discontent and wars, — hence fortifications and
weapons of defence. Men hunger, — and hence the invention of instruments
by which they succeed in the sports of the field, or control the chase.
And, at length, with all the elements of civilized society around them, in
shrines, bulwarks, domestic retreats, arsenals, social love, and national
glory — they come to have a history ; and, with the laudable desire of per
petuating the memory of themselves and of their epoch, you find at Pa-
lenque, as well as in Egypt and on the Ganges, those figured monuments
which tell the tale of the departed great, by symbols, letters, paintings or
hieroglyphics. Now, separated by thousands of leagues of sea from the Eastern hem
isphere, and with men who had no means, but the frail canoe, of transport
ing themselves over it, you suddenly alight on these shores, in the midst
of the sixteenth century ; — and find temples, idols, the remains of dwellings,
fortifications, weapons of defence and chase, astronomical calendars, and
people, worshipping, living and governing in the midst of every external
evidence of ancient civilization. The whole of North America, we have

256 MEXICO.
seen, and a large portion of South America, is strewn with these or
similar remains, from Canada to far below the equator. Here, in the
north, it is supposed that there were three races, succeeding each other,
two of which have vanished even from tradition.
" The monuments of the first, or primitive race," said the late William
Wirt, " are regular stone walls, wells stoned up, brick hearths, found in
digging the Louisville canal, medals of copper, silver swords, and other
implements of iron. Mr. Flint assures us that he has seen these strange
ancient swords. He has also examined a small iron shoe, like a horse
shoe, incrusted with the rust of ages, and found far below the soil, and a
copper axe, weighing about two pounds, singularly tempered and of pecul
iar construction.
" These relics, he thinks, belonged to a race of civilized men, who must
have disappeared many centuries ago. To this race he attributes the
hieroglyphic characters found on the limestone bluffs ; the remains of cities
and fortifications in Florida ; the regular banks of ancient live-oaks near
them ; and the bricks found at Louisville, nineteen feet below ihe surface,
in regular hearths, with ihe coals of ihe last domestic fire upon them; — these
bricks were hard and regular, and longer in proportion to their width than
those of the present day.
" To the second race of beings are attributed the vast mounds of earth,
found throughout the whole western region, from Lake Erie and western
Pennsylvania to Florida and the Rocky mountains. Some of them con
tain skeletons of human beings, and display immense labor. Many of
them are regular mathematical figures, parallelograms and sections of
circles, showing the remains of gateways and subterranean passages.
Some are eighty feet high, and have trees growing on them, apparently
of ihe age of five hundred years. They are generally of a soil differing
from that which surrounds them, and they are most common in situations
where it since has been found convenient to build towns and cities.
" One of these mounds was levelled in the centre of Chillicothe, and
cart-loads of human bones removed from it. Another may be seen in Cin
cinnati, in which a thin circular piece of gold, alloyed with copper, was
found last year. Another in St. Louis, named the " Falling Garden," is
pointed out to strangers as a great curiosity.
" Many fragments of earthenware, some of curious workmanship, have
been dug up throughout this vast region ; some represented drinking vessels,
some human heads, and some idols ; — they all appear to have been moulded
by the hand, and hardened in the sun. These mounds and earthen im
plements indicate a race inferior to the first, which was acquainted with
the use of iron.
" The third race are the Indians now existing on the Western Terri
tories. In the profound silence and solitude of these regions, and above
the bones of a buried world, how must a philosophic traveller meditate
upon the transitory state of human existence, when the only traces of the
beings of two races of men are these strange memorials ! On this very spot

REMAINS IN PERU.

257

generation after generation has stood, lived, warred, grown old and passed
away ; and not only their names, but their nation, their language has per
ished, and utter oblivion has closed over their once populous abodes ! We
call this the New World. It is old ! Age after age, and one physical revo
lution after another has passed over it — but who shall tell its history ?"
Who ? We have seen the memorials of three distinct races — but who
can tell the origin of the first two — or even of the last ? And, yet, these
are only part of the inhabitants of North America.
I have attempted to describe to you the prominent remains that still exist
farther south, in the Valley of Mexico, and in other portions of the Re
public. Following the links of the chain still farther south, Messieurs
Stephens and Catherwood have given an account of forty cities visited by
them in their second tour ; and they describe the ruins of others and their
monuments, still more southerly, in their former volumes.
In South America, we have only the most distinct accounts of Peru ;
and although the Government of the Incas possessed no regular city but
Cuzco, many interesting specimens have been exhumed from the " Gua-
cas," or mounds, with which they covered the bodies of the dead. " Among
these," says Dr. Rees, are " mirrors of various dimensions, of hard shining
stones, highly polished ; vessels of earthenware, of different forms ; hatchets
and other instruments, some destined for war, and others for labor. Some
were of flint, some of copper, hardened by an unknown process, to such a
degree as to supply the place of iron." To these may be added a variety
of curious drinking vessels, made of pottery baked and painted ; many
specimens of which embellish the public and private Museums of our
country, and are not unlike some that have been found in the Island of
Sacrificios.

PERUVIAN WATER VESSELS.

The public roads of the Peruvians were also worthy of all praise ;
especially those two magnificent highways traversing the country from
Quito to Cuzco for fifteen hundred miles ; — the one passing through the in-
17

258 MEXICO.
terior over mountain and valley, and the other by the plains of the sea.
coast. But, in the construction of their Temples this remarkable people
exhibited their greatest ingenuity, as well as in their edifices designed for
the comfort and occupation of their sovereigns. " The Temple of Pacha-
camac, together with the Palace of the Inca, and Fortress, were so con
nected together, as to form one great structure above half a league in
circuit. Though they had not discovered the use of mortar, or of any
other cement in building, the bricks and stones are joined with such nicety
that the seams can hardly be discerned. Notwithstanding the inconve
nient arrangement of the apartments, and the want of windows, the archi
tectural works of the Peruvians, which still remain, must be considered
as stupendous efforts of a people unacquainted with the use of iron and
the mode of applying the mechanical powers. Among the ancient edi
fices of this people, we may mention the Obelisk and Statues of Tiahu-
anuca, and Mausoleums of Chachapoyas, which are conical buildings of
stone, supporting rude busts of huge and massive dimensions."*
Yet all that these remains from north to south, through such a varied
extent of latitude and climate, can effect, is to strike us with wonder,
and stimulate, though they puzzle our most eager curiosity. The monu
ments, themselves disclose nothing of the origin of the races. Is there,
then, a written record ? Are there any volumes or scattered leaves re
maining to tell the story 1
The only remnant of this character that I have been able to discover
(and it is slightly referred to by Mr. Stephens,) is, what is called an Aztec
manuscript, which was purchased in 1739 by Goetz, at Vienna, during a
literary tour he made to Italy, and is now preserved, under the name of
Codex Meocicanus, in the Royal Collection of Dresden.
It is written on metl, or paper undoubtedly made of the leaves of the
Agave Americana, similar to others brought from Mexico and preserved
at Veletri, Vienna, and in the Vatican. It is described as forming a
tabella plicalis, or folding book, which may be shut up like a map; nearly
eighty-one yards in length, and covered, on both sides, with paintings and
written characters. Each page is about seven inches in length by three
inches and a little more in breadth. One side of the page is occupied
by painted figures, and the rest by signs or letters placed side by side, and
by no means unlike the Chinese, or the hieroglyphic characters delin
eated by Mr. Catherwood, as partly covering the monuments at Palenque
and Copan.
The opposite plate is a precise copy of one page of this manuscript as
given by Baron Humboldt, in his Atlas, except that I have been unable
to present you with the brilliant blue, red, green and yellow colors that
tint the figures and give to the whole the appearance and effect of an
illuminated missal.
A writer in the sixteenth volume of the Edinburgh Review, at page
222 of the American edition, casts doubts on the genuineness of this man-
* Roes, vol. xxviii. article, Peru.

qQ3°©S8S9°°Q0^

5

q ra1

|jbS!)^||S)fflil<59

wis*! ®SS 5 ggjgjrlBy&igfflw

.IEXICAN MANUSCRIPT.

MEXICAN MANUSCRIPT. 259
uscript, as being of Aztec origin ; he thinks " it highly improbable that
it is Mexican, as nothing like it has yet been found among the monuments
of that people ; while, on the other hand, it seems probable that it is the
workmanship of the same race that reared and inhabited Palenque,
seeing that similar characters abound among its ruins." One of the
strongest circumstantial evidences, in all legal investigations of the au
thenticity of documents, is the material on which they are written. False
wills have thus been detected by the date in the water mark ; and, in this
instance, it will be recollected that the material is precisely similar to
that which is known to have been brought from Mexico, containing draw
ing, that were undoubtedly made by the Aztecs. In addition to this, it is
a work written and painted on paper made of the Agave Americana, or
American Aloe, not a single one of which is delineated by Mr. Cather-
wood as growing wild among the ruins of Palenque. In fact, it is a plant
almost unknown in the level and warmer territories near the coast ; it is
peculiar to the elevated plateaus of the Valley of Mexico and the adja
cent country, and I do not remember to have seen it, in the coui>ee of my
journey through the tierra caliente, even at the short distance of sixty
miles south of the Capital in the vale of Cuemavaca. If it be replied
to this that the paper or leaf may have been brought to Palenque from
Mexico, the answer would at once show a connection of arts between the
people, and go far to prove their national identity or close alliance and
intercourse. It should be remembered, too, that works like this would
very naturally have been the first to be destroyed in Mexico, and the
smallness of their number would thus be successfully accounted for.
From these facts we may fairly argue that this book of eighty yards in
length, covered with written characters and illuminated with pictures, is, in
all probability, a Mexican production. The figures of the men or demons
are evidently similar, both in physignomy, posture and faces, to those on the
monuments and idols I have already described to you. But who shall
decipher their meaning, or that of the hieroglyphics ?
For years the antiquarians of the Old World were guessing at the
signification of Egyptian hieroglyphics, until, in 1799, a French engi
neer, when digging the foundations of Fort St. Julien, on the west bank
of the Nile, between Rosetta and the sea, discovered the fragment of a
stone which is now deposited in the British Museum. It contained an in
scription in hieroglyphic, Demotic, and Greek — two of which are ancient
Egyptian languages. The Greek was deciphered and the translation
applied to the Demotic, and both, again, to the hieroglyphic ; and, thus,
after years of patient and unceasing toil, a key has been formed by which
the present savans of Europe go among the relics of Egypt, and decipher
the inscriptions on their tombs as easily as we read the mementoes over the
graves of our friends in the cemeteries of Boston or Baltimore. But even
if a Rosetta stone were discovered in Mexico, there is no Indian tongue
to supply the key or interpreter.
17*

260 MEXICO.
We are thus, in all probability, forever stopped in our investigations of
the origin of these races ; — either from their Monuments or their written
Records. We are left to trace national relations by similar buildings,
similar dresses, similar traditions, similar worship, similar governments,
or similar faith ; but all these identities are not inconsistent with the idea
arrived at by Mr. Bradford in his Researches on the Origin and History
of the Red Race, that the Aborigines of America may have been " a prim-
itive branch of the human family."*
I confess, when I recollect the Mexican tradition, that the original tribes
came to their beautiful valley, after many years and vicissitudes of a
dreary pilgrimage from the north, I have not thought it fanciful to be-
lieve, that they may have belonged to one of the two races described by
Mr. Wirt, as extinct before the origin of the present Red Men of our for
ests and prairies. Wave after wave of the flowing tide of humanity may
have beaten gradually along this Continent from north to south, each urg
ing on the preceding. Tired of the hunter life at the inhospitable north,
they wandered off to the south. A straggler now and then returned with
a tale of the genial climate, shady groves, and prolific soil of the central
regions ; — and, thus, family after family, colony after colony, tribe after
tribe, was induced to quit its colder homes, and settle in the south. As
in the Old World, that south became the centre of civilization. Men
were modified by climate. The rude savage, who depended upon the
chase for subsistence at the north, and dwelt in caves or sheltered under
the forest leaves, awoke to a new idea of life in his newer home. The
energy of his character was not yet lost ; — he saw the magical power of
agriculture, and a new idea was revealed to him through its mysterious
agency. There was no need of excessive toil in the fields or in the for
ests. His spirit became less warlike, and more social, as men congregated
in populous neighborhoods. While in the north, the merest and fewest
necessaries — his weapon, his breastwork, his fireplace, his cave for a
dwelling, and a mound for a grave — sufficed the Indian, his whole purposes
and instincts assumed a different character in the south.
The warrior and hunter loved the hardships taught him at the north,
by his wandering habits from infancy ; — but, the burning sun and milder
climate of the south, while they inclined to peace and longevity, induced
him to build tasteful and sheltering edifices for himself and his posterity.
The adoration of his gods, became an enthusiasm, under more fervid skies ;
*In Mr. Norman's work on Yucatan at page 318, there is a letter from Doctor Morton, the celebrated author
of " Crania Americana," in which, after expressing his thankfulness to Mr. N. for the opportunity afforded hini
of examining certain bones brought from Yucatan, he observes, that, "dilapidated as they are, their characters,
as far as I can ascertain them, correspond with all the esteological remains of that people which have hitherto
come under my observation, and go to confirm the position, that all the American tribes (excepting the Esqui
maux, who are obviously of Asiatic origin,) are of the same unmixed race. I have examined the skulls (now in
my possession) of four hundred individuals belonging to tribes which have inhabited almost every region ot North
and South America, and I find the same type of organization to pervade and characterize them all.
" I much regret that we have in this country so few skulls of the Mongolian or Polar tribes of Northern Asia.
These are all important in deciding the question whether the Aboriginal American race is peculiar and distinct
from all others ; a position which I hav? always maintained, and which I think will be verified when the requisite
means of comparison are procured."

EMIGRATION OF THE TRIBES. 261
and the vow or the worship that were onee offered in the recesses of groves,
in the silence of dark woods, or on the mountain-top, — were here poured
forth on the lofty pyramid, built by human hands and fashioned by hu
man art.
Although we are left in this mystery as to the peopling of America, 1
think there is not so much doubt in regard to the inhabitants of Uxmal,
Palenque, Copan, Chichen-Itza, and the various cities that have been
described by Mr. Stephens.
According to Clavigero, a tribe, known as the Toltecs, left their home
in the north, and, after a journey of emigration that lasted 104 years,
(during which time they frequently tarried in certain places for years
and months, erecting edifices and partially establishing themselves,) they,
at length, reached the vale of Anahuac, a territory that subsequently be
came the seat of the Mexican Empire. At Tollan, or Tula, they founded the
Capital of a dynasty, which lasted 384 years ; — celebrated for its wisdom,
knowledge, and extensive civilization. About 1051, (the tradition runs,)
famine and pestilence nearly desolated the kingdom, and a great por-
tion of those who escaped the ravages of disease emigrated immediately
to Yucatan and Guatemala, leaving but a scattering remnant of this once
flourishing empire in Tula and Cholula.
For one hundred years afterward Anahuac was nearly depopulated.
Then came an emigration of the Chichimecas, from the north, like the
Toltecs, and from a place which they called Amaquemecan. These,
too, intermingling with the Toltec remnants, had their reign among the
ruins of the former empire, — dwelling, however, in small villages, and
lacking all the elements of civilization.
Eight years after their advent to Anahuac, six tribes called the Nahu-
atlacks arrived, having left, at a short distance, a seventh, called Aztecs.
Shortly afterward, they were joined by their missing tribe and by the
Acolhuans, who are said to have emigrated from Teoacolhucan, near the
original country of the Chichimecas. These were, undoubtedly, the most
enlightened of all the wandering tribes who had penetrated these valleys
since the days of the Toltecs, and they speedily formed an alliance with
their ancient neighbors.
Of all these wanderers, however, we have now no traditions, except in
relation to the Aztecs, who, departing from Azatlan in the north about the
year 1160, continued their singular and weary pilgrimage, with frequent
delays, until 1325 ; when, finding on a rock in a lake, the " Eagle on the
Prickly Pear," (the omen to which they had been prophetically directed
for the foundation of their future Capital,) they gathered together among
the marshes of Tezcoco, and built the city of Tenochtitlan, — the Mexico
of Cortez. It is believed, both by Clavigero and Humboldt, that all these
tribes of the Toltecs, Acolhuans, Chichimecas and Nahuatlacks, spoke the
same language, and therefore, in all probability, emigrated from about
the same degree of northern latitude.

262 MEXICO.
Besides these tribes, there were others in the country at the period of
the conquest. The Tarascos who inhabited Michoacan, the barbarous
Ottomites, the Olmecs and Xicalancas, and Miztecas and Zapotecas ; — the
latter of whom are held, by Humboldt, to have been even superior to the
Mexicans in point of civilization, and were probably antecedent, in the
date of their emigration, to the Toltecs. In addition to this, you must
bear in mind that the ancient Mexican Empire did not cover (as is usually
supposed,) the whole of what is now the Republic of Mexico, or formerly
New Spain. On the east, it was bounded by the river Coatzacualco ; on
the north, it did not extend farther than Tusapan ; on the west, it was
washed by the Pacific ; and on the south, it reached, in all probability, to
near the limits of what are now the provinces of Chiapas and Tobasco.*
You will recollect, that after the " pestilence and famine" that thinned
the numbers of the Toltecs, the greater portion of the survivors emi
grated to Yucatan and Guatemala ; these were a highly civilized people,
— livincr in houses, and building temples — to whom, perhaps, the Mexicans
were indebted for the germ of their subsequent refinement. Is it not,
then, highly probable, that the ancient ruins found by Mr. Stephens,
scattered over Guatemala, Yucatan and Chiapas, were the palaces and
temples of this wandering race ? It strikes me, that no one can compare
the unquestionably Toltec Vase found in the department of Tula, and
described at page 108, the sculptures on the Stone of Sacrifice, at page
119 ; and in fact the general characteristics of all the sculpture, idols
and figures heretofore represented, with those delineated by Mr. Cather-
wood, and doubt the identity or close connection between the people.
We have every evidence of high civilization among the Mexicans, as you
have observed in the preceding pages. They had temples, gods, gardens,
magnificent dwellings, and all the paraphernalia of a splendid Empire.
This Empire was in full power and glory at the period of the Spanish
conquest. Its southern limit nearly bounded on Guatemala and Yucatan,
and, with the most distant portion, there was, unquestionably, a com
munication kept up by the Capital. Why, then, may not the palaces of
Uxmal, Palenque and Chiapas, have been inhabited, and their altars and
temples used, as places of sacrifice in the days of Cortez, as well as the
heights of Chapultepec — or the Teocalli of Mexico ?
The silence of contemporary historians in regard to the former cities of
Yucatan and Guatemala, is no argument against their having been inhab
ited. The two best writers, Cortgz and Bernal Diaz, were soldiers, not
antiquarians. They came for conquest, not research ; and it is greatly
to be regretted that a history of Guatemala, known to have existed a
few years ago in that country, in the original manuscript of Diaz, (and
which was once in the possession of Mr. Whitehead, of Mexico,) has been
utterly lost in the turmoils and confusion of that country.
It seems to me impossible to believe that the Valley of Mexico was
the only seat of refinement, taste, and luxury on the isthmus, or that so
* Vide Humboldt, Cla vigero, and McCulloh.

EMIGRATION OF THE TRIBES.

263

powerful an Empire existed in all its splendor, while the pyramids, tem
ples, palaces, and edifices which are represented in the plates accompany
ing these letters, were abandoned to the forest and its beasts. I cannot
believe, that in so small a geographical space there could be such palpa
ble anachronisms, — so much light in one spot with so much blackness next
it; — that people, at the height of social and architectural refinement,
should have had neighbors at the distance of 100, 200, or 300 miles,
who were utter savages, while, a few degrees farther south, there was
another stratum of known civilization in Peru.
I do not rely upon all the dates, assigned by Mexican historians, for the
rise and fall of the Toltecs and Aztecs. There is doubt among the best
writers on these subjects. The period, during which their emigration
from the north continued, may be correct ; but I question the accuracy of
the time given for the commencement and spread of their respective mon
archies, especially, when we remember the numbers who fell either in
battle or under the sacrificial knife. The empires were exceedingly pop
ulous, and it would seem to have required centuries to gather all the pop
ulation that existed in the vale of Anahuac after the ravages that termi
nated the Toltec sway. Besides this, the Mexicans rose to great refinement
from absolute barbarism, or from the comparative ignorance and bad hab
its they had contracted during a long emigration. This requires time.
The growth of nations is gradual. How long did it require to pile up
the hill of Xochicalco — to dig its ditch of a league in extent — to quarry
its immense stones — to bring them from their distant caves — to bear them
to the summit of the mound — to pile them up in the several stories of the
pyramid — and, lastly, to cover the whole with elaborate carving ? How
long did it require to prepare the mind of a nation, step by step, for the
idea and construction of such an edifice ; — which, we must remember, is
but one out of thousands !
It is difficult to determine what might have been the extent of our
knowledge of all the questions with which I began this letter, if the holy
fathers, instead of making bonfires of Mexican records, had studied them
with antiquarian zeal. Yet, I have at least satisfied myself, that if we
know nothing of tjie origin of the people of America, we may at least
be confident that Palenque, Uxmal, Copan, Mexico, Xochicalco, Teo
tihuacan, Cholula, Papantla, Tusapan, and Mitla, were the dwellings
and temples of civilized nations at the period of the Spanish conquest.
If ever the city of which Mr. Stephens heard, as existing among the
mountains, (unvisited hitherto by white men,) is penetrated by some fu
ture band of adventurous travellers, the mystery may, perhaps, be solved.
That such a city exists, I think by no means improbable, when it is re
collected, that near the town of Cuemavaca, not more, perhaps, than
seventy miles from the Capital of Mexico, there is a populous and well
governed Indian village, enjoying its native habits, and refusing to hold in
tercourse with the Spaniards. How much more probable that there should
be primitive tribes of which we have not the slightest information flour-

264 MEXICO.
ishing with their original laws, customs, towns, and temples, among the
folds of the distant mountains in the bosom of our unexplored Continent!*

Note.— The Mexican Cosmogony has four periods, when, it is alleged, thatall mankind, with the exception of
two or three individuals, perished.
The 1st period was terminated by famine at the end of.  5206 years.
" 2nd " " fire " " 4804 "
" 3rd ' hurricane " " 4010 "
" 4th " " deluge '* " 4008 "
In this deluge all perished, with the exception of Coxcox, and his wife Xochiquetzal, who escaped in a canoe.
I have already, at page 28, presented you an account of a Toltec legend, showing how one of the giants,
called Xelhua, and his six brethren, were saved from the deluge on the mountain of Tlaloc, while all the rest of
mankind perished in the waters or were transformed into fish.
Josephus, quoting from the 96th book of Nicholas of Damascus, says ' ' there is a great mountain in Armenia,
over Mingas, called Baris, upon which, it is reported, that many who fled at the time of the deluge were saved :
and that one who was carried in an ark came on shore on the top of it ; and that the remains of the timber were
a great while preserved. This might be the man about whom Moses, the legislator of the Jews, wrote."
In the construction, form, and object of the Mexican teocallis, there is a striking analogy lo the tumuli and
pyramids of the old world. According to Herodotus, the temple of Belus was a pyramid, built of brick and
asphattum, solid throughout, (irvpyos ore/3 os,) and it had eight stories. A temple (vaos) was erected on its
top, and another at its base. In like manner, in the Mexican teocallis, the tower, (vaos) was distinguished from
tlie temple on the platform ; a distinction clearly pointed out in the letters of Cortez. Diodorus Siculus states,
that the Babylonian temple served as an observatory to the Chaldeans ; so, the Mexican priests, says Humboldt,
made observations on the stars from the summit of the teocallis, and announced to the people, by the sound of
the hom, the hour of the night. The pyramid of Belus was at once a temple and a tomb. In like manner, the
tumulus ("XfCfLa) of Calisto in Arcadia, described by Pausanias as a cone, made by the hands of man, bat cov
ered with vegetation, bore on its top the temple of Diana. The teocallis were also both temples and tombs;
and the plain in which are built the houses of the sun and moon at Teotihuacan, is called the path of the dead.
The group of pyramids at Gheeza and Sakkara in Egypt ; the triangular pyramid of the queen of the Scyth
ians, mentioned by Diodorus ; the fourteen Etruscan, pyramids which are said to have been inclosed in the
labyrynth of King Porsennaat Clusium: the tumulus of Alyattes atLydia (see Modern Traveller, Syria and
Msia Minor, vol. ii. p. 153;) the sepulchres of the Scandinavian king Gormusandhis queen Daneboda ; aadthe
tumuli found in Virginia, Canada, and Peru, in which numerous galleries, built with stone and communicating
with each by shafts, fill up the interior of artificial hills ;— are referred to by the learned Traveller as sepulchral
monuments of a similar character, but differing from tlie teocallis in not being, at the same time, surmounted
with temples. It is perhaps too hastily assumed, however, that none of these were destined to serve as bases for
altars ; and the assertion is much too unqualified, that " the pagodas of Hindostan have nothing in common
with the Mexican temples. That of Tanjore, notwithstanding that the altar is not at the top, bears a striking
analogy in other respects to the teocallis."— See Humboldt's Researches, vol. i. pp. 81—107 ; Pol. Essay, vol.
ii. pp. 146—149 ; Mod. Traveller, vol. vi. p. 241.
* Vide Appendix No. 3, at page 382, for a very interesting letter from Horatio Hale, Esq., on the connection
of Indian languages.

LETTER XXVI.
CITY .OF MEXICO. PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. PRISONS. PRISON STATISTICS.
ACADEMY. PRIVATE COLLECTIONS.
We will return now from the edifices of Ancient Mexico, to the mod
ern institutions and erections of the Spaniards, who .have displaced the
Indians. I have already given you some descriptions of the City of Mexico, and
the appearance and character of the castle-like dwellings of the people ;
but, (with the exception of the Cathedral,) I have as yet said nothing of
the public edifices and churches.
There are two Palaces in the City of Mexico, one of which is appro
priated to the Archbishop, and the other to the President and Government
officers. The Archbishop's Palace fronts the northern end of the President's,
and is plain and simple both within and without. The same may be said
of the National Palace ; it has no architectural pretensions, and until the
year 1842, was a long low pile of unadorned buildings, filled with a mis
erable collection of comfortless rooms. Upon the accession of General
Santa Anna, however, a change took place. The Minister of Finance
fitted up a suite of apartments for his bureaux, in a tasteful modern style ;
and, in the months of August and September, the Grand Sala was en
tirely completed, and opened to the public for the first time on the anni
versary of the crowning victory of Mexican Independence.
In this spacious and well-proportioned apartment they have gathered a
quantity of gorgeous furniture, and placed, on a' platform at the northern
end, under a crimson canopy, a magnificently carved and gilded throne.
Various flags, alleged to have been taken from the Texans, in battle, are
affixed to staff's extending from the cornice. The walls are covered with
large French mirrors, and the deep windows are festooned with the
most tasteful upholstery of French artistes. I have wandered over
the whole of this immense pile of edifices, but 1 recollect nothing else
about it worthy of notice. The private apartments of General Santa
Anna are plain, neat, and tasteful, and a full-length portrait of General
Washington adorns an obscure chamber.
In an inner court, to the eastward, is the Botanic Garden, surrounded
by the lofty walls of adjoining edifices. It is of small extent, and the

266

MEXICO.

poor flowers, shut up in the dreary inclosure, seem like so many beauti
ful nuns secluded for ever from the vulgar gaze. The chief gardener is
a Roman — aged, he alleges, more than a century — who either knows
little of his business, or has become useless by extreme age. He lives,
like a hermit, in the shady nooks of his tangled and neglected garden,
and amuses himself by pointing out to every visitor the greatest floral
curiosity of the place — the celebrated Arbol Manita.

HAND FLOWER.

The almost unpronounceable Indian name is Macpalxoch'quauhitl, the
botanic, Chiranihodendron pentadactylon ; — but it is usually known as the
" hand flower." Two trees only are said to exist in the Republic — one at
Toluca and the other in the Capital ; — and it is chiefly remarkable for
the brilliancy of its tints, and the claw that protrudes from its thorny cup
— a singular mingling of bird and blossom.
J Behind the Palace are the Senate Chamber, and the Chamber of De-
' puties — both of them tasteful and comfortable apartments. The latter is
of semicircular form, with a throne-like stage for the seat of the Presi
dent on public occasions; — beneath its canopy are hung the Declara
tion of Independence, and the sword which Iturbide" first drew in defence

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.

267

of Mexican liberty. The chairs of the members are ranged in two rows,
rising one above the other against the walls of the semicircle, without
desks ; and above these, again, are lodges, or boxes supported by pil
lars, for the audience. A well executed picture of the Victory of Tam-
pico, occupies a panel over the door in front of the throne ; and on the
table of the secretaries is placed the omnipresent crucifix.
The buildings of the Mint form the back of the palace square, and
are filled with the old and cumbrous machinery of the last century. I
saw none of the modern improvements which have been introduced both
in Europe and in this country ; but I cannot pass over this institution
without doing justice to the artistical skill of the artist, who is at pres
ent engaged in making new dies for the future coinage of the Republic.
The taste and talent of this young gentleman were discovered by some
of the chiefs of Government, and he was immediately dispatched to Rome,
whence, after a few years study, he has returned to honor his native
Capital with the works of his graver.
I will say nothing of the old edifice of the Inquisition, with its vaulted
rooms, its inner chambers, and its monastic gloom ; or of the neighboring
church of the Dominicans, in the court-yard of which you are still shown
the hollow among the stones, wherein the stake was erected that sustained
the victims of their former auto's. There is no longer an Inquisition, or
a faggot. Near this is the Adouana — or Custom House — which, like the Dipu-
tacion, is a stately and commodious edifice. There are fourteen parish
churches, six private churches, thirteen convents and seminaries for men,
and twenty -two for women; six colleges, one university, and five hos
pitals and poor-houses.

MONTE PIO.
The Monte Pio — a species of national pawnbroker establishment — is \
in the great Square, occupying the building known as the Palace of
Cortez, said to be erected on the ruins of the ancient Palace of Monte
zuma. This is one of the most beneficent institutions in the world, and
was founded in 1775, by the Conde de Regla, who endowed it with about
$300,000. Since that period it has been administered faithfully by the
Government, and affords succor daily to more than two hundred persons.
It is ruled by a general Board of Directors, and receives pledges of
clothes, jewels, plate, and every species of valuables. These articles are
appraised at a fair valuation, the amount of which (deducting the interest)
is paid to the pawner ; — they are then retained for six months, during
which period the owner is at liberty to withdraw them upon repayment
of the sum advanced. If the debt is not refunded at the end of that time,
the pledges are disposed of at public sale ; and if they bring more under

268 MEXICO.
the hammer than the valuation, ihe difference is given to their original
owners. From the foundation of this admirable Institute — which has been the
means of preventing so much disgrace and misery during the revolution
ary difficulties of the Capital — 2,232,611 persons had received succor
up to the beginning of 1836. During the same period it had distributed
'$31,674,702, besides giving $134,746 in alms.
In the year 1837, it aided 29,629 persons by the distribution of $477,
772, and gave $1,089 for masses to be said daily by three chaplains, who
received a dollar for each of their services.
You may form an idea of the number and variety of persons who
derive assistance from the Monte Pio, by a walk through its extensive
apartments. You will there find every species of garment, from the
tattered reboso of the lepira to the lace mantilla of the noble dame ;
every species of dress, from the blanket of the beggar, to the military
cloak and jewelled sword of the impoverished officer; and, as to jewels,
Aladdin would have had nothing to wish among the blazing caskets of
diamonds for which the women of Mexico are proverbial.

MINERIA.

The Mineria — or School of Mines — is one of the most splendid edifices
in America. It was planned and built by Tolsa — the sculptor of the
statue of Charles IV. — and is an immense pile of stone, with courts,
stairways, saloons, and proportions that would adorn the most sumptu
ous palaces of Europe. But this is all. The apparatus is miserable; the
) collection of minerals utterly insignificant; the pupils few; and, among
', the wastes and solitude of the pile, wanders the renowned Del Rio — one
.. of the most learned naturalists of this hemisphere — ejaculating his sor
rows over the departed glory of his favorite schools.
An edifice used for the manufacture of tobacco, situated at the north
western corner of the city, and erected by the old Spanish government,
has been converted into a citadel. I never visited it, and can give no
account of its interior.

ACCORDADA, OR PUBLIC PRISON.

Passing westward, toward the Passeo Nuevo from the Alameda, you
cross the square in front of the Accordada, the common prison of the
Capital. In the front of one of its wings a low-barred window is constantly
open, and within, on an inclined plane, are laid the dead bodies found daily
within the limits of the city. It is almost impossible to take your morning
walk to the adjoining fields, without seeing one, and frequently two corpses,
stretched bleeding on the stones. These are the victims of some sudden

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.

269

quarrel, or unknown murder during the night ; and all who miss a friend,
a parent or a brother, resort to these iron bars to seek the lost one. It is
painful to behold the scenes to which this melancholy assemblage fre
quently give rise, and hear the wails of sorrow that break from the home
less orphan, whose parent lies murdered on the stones of the dead-house.
Yet this is scarcely more shocking than the scenes presented by the
living, within the walls of the loathsome prison. A strong guard of mili
tary is stationed at the gate, and you enter, after due permission from the
commanding officer. A gloomy stair leads to the second story, the en
trance to which is guarded by a portal massive enough to resist the assault
of a powerful force. Within, a lofty apartment is filled with the officers
of the prison and a crowd of subalterns, engaged in writing, talking,
and walking — amid the hum of the crowd, the clank of chains, the shout
of prisoners, and the eternal din of an ill-regulated establishment.
Passing through several iron and wood- barred gates, you enter a lofty
corridor, running around a quadrangular court-yard, in the centre of
which, beneath, is a fountain of troubled water. The whole of this area is
filled with human beings — the great congress of Mexican crime — mixed
and mingling, like a hill of busy ants swarming from their sandy caverns.
Some are stripped and bathing in the fountain ; some are fighting in a
corner ; some making baskets in another. In one place a crowd is gath
ered around a witty story-teller, relating the adventures of his rascally
life. In another, a group is engaged in weaving with a hand-loom. Rob
bers, murderers, thieves, ravishers, felons of every description, and vaga
bonds of every aspect, are crammed within this court-yard ; — and, almost
free from discipline or moral restraint, form, perhaps, the most splendid
school of misdemeanor and villainy on the American Continent.
Below, within the corridor of the second story — from which I have de
scribed the view of this wretched mass of humanity — a rather better sort
of criminals are kept ; and yet, even here, many were pointed out to me
as being under sentence of death, who still went about entirely without
restraint. In one corner of the quadrangle is the chapel, where convicts for capi
tal offences are condemned to solitude and penance, during the three last
days of their miserable life ; and, at a certain hour, it is usual for all
the prisoners to gather in front of the door, and chant a hymn for the
victim of the laws. It is a solemn service of crime for crime.
I did not see the prison for the women, but I am told it is much the same
as the one I have just described. About one hundred of the men, chained
in pairs like galley slaves, are driven daily into the streets, under a strong
guard, as scavengers ; and it seems to be the chief idea of the utility of
prisons in Mexico, to support this class of coerced laborers.
There can be no apology, at this period of general enlightenment in the
world, for such disgraceful exhibitions of the congregated vice of a coun
try. Punishment, or rather, incarceration, and labor on the streets, in the
manner I have described, is, in fact, no sacrifice ; — both because public

270 MEXICO.
exhibition deadens the felon's shame, and because it cannot become an
actual punishment under any circumstances of a lepero's life. Indeed,
what object in existence can the lepero propose to himself? His day is
one of precarious labor and income ; he thieves ; he has no regular home
or if he has, it is some miserable hovel of earth and mud, where his wife
and children crawl about with scarce the instinct of beavers. His food
and clothing are scant and miserable. He is without education, or pros
pect of improvement. He belongs to a class that does not rise. He dulls
his sense of present misery by intoxicating drinks. His quick temper
stimulates him to quarrel. His sleep is heavy and unrefreshing, and he
only rises to a day of similar uncertainty and wickedness. What, then, is
the value of life to him, or to one like him ? Why toil ? Why not steal?
What shame has he ? Is ihe prison, with certainty of food — more punish
ment than the free air, with uncertainty ? On the contrary, it is a lighter
punishment; and as for the degradation, he knows not how to estimate it.
Mexico will thus continue to be infested with felons, as long as its prison
is a house of refuge, and a comparatively happy home to so large a portion
of its outcast population.*
I have collected some statistical information on these subjects, which I
think will be interesting in connection with Mexican prisons, and prove
how necessary it is, in the first place, to alter their whole system of
coercive discipline ; and, in the second, to strike immediately at the root
of the evil, by improving the condition of the people — by educating, and
proposing advantages to them, in the cultivation of the extensive tracts
of country that now lie barren over their immense territory.
IMPRISONMENTS IN MEXICO FOR 1842.
During the first six months of 1842, there were imprisoned in the City of
Mexico, -  3,197 men.
1,427 women.
During the second six months, - 2,858 men.
1,379 women.

Total of both sexes for 1842, 8,861
Without specifying each of the several crimes, for which these persons
were committed to prison, or being able, from all the accounts furnished
me, to state the exact number of those who were finally convicted, I will
* As an evidence of the little value these liperos place upon their lives,— an old resident in Mexico told me,
that he had once been the witness of a street-fight between two women, which resulted in the use of knives, and
the ripping of one's belly, so that her bowels were exposed. The wound was not fatal, and as soon as she had
wJightly recovered from the loss of blood, while the attendants were preparing a litter, she drew forth a cigarrilo
from her bosom, obtained a light from a bystander, and was borne oil" to the hospital, smoking as contentedly 03
if preparing for a siesta !

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.

271

Women,

Total.

179

491

470

1,970

1,104

3,233

444

1,056

17

87

21

86

1

8

0

3

present some lists of the numbers imprisoned for the chief crimes, during
the whole year.

Men.
1, Prostitution, adultery, bigamy, sodomy, incest, 312
2. Robbery, - 1,500
3. Quarreling and wounding, - 2,129
4. Quarreling, bearing arms, &c. 612
5. Homicide, attempt at do., and robbery and homicide, 70
6. Rape and incontinence, - 65
7. Forgery, - - - 7
8. Gambling, - 3
Which, added together, give the frightful amount of - 6,934
males and females, for the higher crimes and misdemeanors — leaving a
balance of 1,927 only, to be divided among the lesser. It should be stated,
in addition to the above, that numbers were committed for throwing vitriol
on the clothes and faces of persons passing along the street; — that 113
dead bodies were found; — 17 individuals executed* — and 894 sent to
the hospital.
The sum of $4,121 is expended in salaries of officers for this Institution,
and $30,232 for the support of the prisoners.

ACADEMY OF ARTS.

Let us pass from this examination of vice and immorality in Mexico,
to something more agreeable.
My expectations had been greatly excited by the Baron Humboldt's
account of the Academy of Fine Akts ; but how greatly was I disap
pointed, in its comparatively miserable condition at present ! It has shared
the fate of the University, Museum, Mineria, and other public institutions.
The halls are untenanted. The multitudes, described by the Baron as
attending the instruction of Professors, and sketching from the splendid
collections of antique casts, — have departed. One artist occupies an ill-
arranged studio in a dark corner of the buildings, and paints stiff figures
of formal officers in gold lace, embroidery and crosses, in a style as dis
agreeable as his manners.
* The mode of execution in Mexico, as in Spain, is by the garrotte. The culprit is seated in a chair, and his
neck is placed in an iron collar, which may be contracted by a screw. A sudden turn drives a spike through the
spinal marrow at the same time that the collar closes round the throat of the victim. Life is almost immediately
extinct, and the sufferings are consequently but trifling. The crowds, to see those executions, in Mexico, are innu
merable. According to Humboldt, there were in 1790, in all the prisons of Mexico, 770 of both sexes, for all crimes, out
of a population of about 113,000.

272 MEXICO.
It is to be hoped that with the " regeneration of the Republic," this
branch of tasteful science will be properly encouraged, and the remark
ably acute and imitative talents of the natives subjected to a discipline,
that cannot fail to rank the Mexicans high in the grade of distinguished art.
The old Spanish government supplied this Institution with a revenue
of near twenty-five thousand dollars a year ; and, at an expense of forty
thousand dollars, safely transported to Mexico over the rough mountain
roads and passes, a beautiful collection of casts of the most renowned sta-
tues and groups of antiquity. These, I am glad to say, are altogether
uninjured, and still adorn the lonely halls of the neglected Academy.
I asked for the pictures of the former scholars, and a few were shown
me, bad in coloring and worse in outline. I asked for the drawings ; and
the answer was, that there were none but a few sketches hung along
the walls, bearing the date of long passed years. Among them, how.
ever, I could not avoid noticing a drawing in ink by one of the pupils,
which, had it been executed on copper, would have ranked him high in
the list of the engravers of the period.

PRIVATE CABINETS.
The private collections of Mexico are not very numerous. Don Jose
Gomez, ex-Conde de la Cortina, has a rare collection of offensive and
defensive arms, ancient and modern, chronologically arranged. In addi
tion to this, he has gathered a number of interesting memorials of his own
country, together with some original pictures, and copies of the most dis
tinguished artists of the Dutch, French, Flemish, Spanish and Italian
schools. Among the painters are Murillo, Morales, Julio Romano, Paul
Veronese, Salvator, Watteau, Mignard, David, and Laflond.
PENASCO'S COLLECTION.
The Museum of Don Jose Mariano Sanchez y Mora, ex-Conde del
Penasco, is comprised in four branches : — Antiquities, natural history,
paintings, and instruments of the physical sciences. His collection of
coins is extremely valuable, consisting of upward of three thousand speci
mens ; and his mineralogical cabinet is unquestionably the rarest in the
Republic. The ores — amethysts, emeralds, and diamonds, would, alone,
almost make the fortune of an European collector.
Don Jose was kind enough to permit me frequently to examine his
Museum of Mexican Antiquities, and to present me with some rare and
interesting idols. He possesses several Indian manuscripts in the ancient
picture-writing, and a collection of dii penates, talismans, amulets, and
musical instruments made of serpentine, basalt and clay.

PRIVATE CABINETS.

273

The above cuts represent two stamps or seals of baked clay, with which
the Indians were accustomed to impress marks upon their cottons. They
go far to prove how near these people were to the discovery of the art of
printing.

18

274

MEXICO.

In the National Museum and in the collection of the Conde, are several
masks, made of obsidian, said to have been found in Indian tombs, cover
ing the faces of skeletons, the remains, perhaps, of some of the illustrious
dead of the Empire. The one here represented was found in the Depart
ment of Chiapas. When you recollect the exceedingly frail and glass
like material out of which these things are cut, you cannot fail to be
struck with the skill and ingenuity of the person who contrived to work it
into the semblance of human features, without fracturing the mass, and
gave to the whole a polish resembling that of ihe finest mirrors. You will
be the more surprised at this on looking at the following ring,

also made of obsidian, and but one-tenth of an inch in thickness ! It is
perfectly transparent, beautifully wrought, and apparently so brittle and
thin, that the slightest blow would fracture it.

The above is also a mask, about a foot long, made, not of obsidian, but
of serpentine. There are holes, as you perceive, in the upper part,
which were doubtless used to suspend it before the face of some of the
idols, according to one of the occasional rites of their worship. This
mask is extremely interesting, because it is a perfect profile of the present
race of Indians, who frequent the very spot at St. Jago de Tlaltelolco,
where the relic was found.

MEXICAN IDOLS.

275

This is an idol found at Tula — the ancient capital of the Toltecs. The
second figure represents the bottom of the statue, and the whole appears
to have been a Toad or Frog — the croaking annoyer of some marshy
neighborhood, who was raised to the dignity of a divinity in stone and
propitiated by the offer of an occasional sacrifice.
And so, perhaps, was the Grasshopper in the following figure, found in
the Capital, cut out of red marble and beautifully polished. It is said ti
be the god of Chapultepec — the " hill of the Cicala."

276 MEXICO.
The next is a- Sacrificial Yoke, similar to the one described at page 121.

The two following figures are those of Serpents, ten and nineteen inches
in diameter — and carved from basalt. They were no doubt connected
with the worship of the god Quetzalcoatl, which I have heretofore de
scribed to you.

MEXICAN IDOLS.

277

278

MEXICO.

The preceding are four figures of unknown idols. One seems to rep
resent a deformed Dwarf; another, a gaping Baboon ; the third is a
monkey's or Idiot's head, cut out of white marble, found some years since
in the Misteca ; and the fourth is a mutilated body neatly carved in ser
pentine. But the finest idol-specimen contained in the Conde's gallery, is the
next that I have delineated. It was brought to him from Oajaca, the an
cient country of Mitla and the Zapotecs — lying southwestwardly from the
Valley of Mexico — and is beautifully carved from a white sandstone,
similar, I think, in material, to those found farther south by Mr. Stephens.

COMPARISON OF IDOLS.

279

You cannot fail to notice the tasteful arrangement of the head-dress, re
sembling those of our Indians as exhibited in the following designs, taken,
for the sake of illustration, from the work of Mr. Catlin.

280

MEXICO.

In the first figure, you will observe feathers depending from the crest
and back, similar to those on the sculptures of Xochicalco and Palenque;
and, in the second, you will perceive that they are arranged in a circle
of rays, so as to be seen in front, as on the statue from Oajaca. Another
thing is interesting in these figures of our Northern Indians. On the
robe of the first Indian is an open hand. This, too, has been the subject
of great speculation by recent writers. Mr. Stephens found it constantly
in the temples he explored. It is in several places on the sides of the
" gladiatorial stone," at page 124 of these letters ; and Mr. Schoolcraft
(unquestionably the best informed of our Indian scholars,) regards it as
emblematic of strength, courage and power.
The figure in the collection of the Conde del Penasco, is a deity con
nected with the Indian notions of fruition or plenty. The ears of corn in
the head-dress indicate this idea, while the whole, perhaps, may be an idol
of Centeoil, the "goddess of ihe Earth and Grain," or, (as she was more
confidingly called,) " she who supports us."

I had just finished sketching the idols represented in the preceding
plates, when I was called to the window by the noise of a crowd below,
gathered around a man lying on his back. I presumed it to be one of
the numberless street-fights or quarrels with which you are daily an
noyed in this Capital, and was about retiring, when the fellow suddenly
raised his legs in the air — balanced himself by his shoulders — and, pitch
ing up a pole horizontally, caught it on his feet.

This, too, was a remnant of antiquity, and having sketched the exhib
itor alongside of an idol, I do not think him out of place in this letter.
The ancient Mexicans had a variety of similar sports ; — such as bal
ancing on each other's shoulders ; on staves ; and on wheels whirling in
the air ; but this exercise, with the pole or beam, was perhaps the most

THE MOUNTEBANK.

281

common of all, and ordinarily practiced, in the streets, as a decent mode
of begging.
The operator is usually stripped to his trowsers, and his capital in
trade consists of a pair of stout thighs and muscular calves. The pole
once balanced on the soles of his feet, he plays all manner of tricks with
it as easily as if it were in his hands ; but I have never seen them sport,
as the ancients are said to have done, with men seated on each end of the
heavy bar.

HIVE AMERICANA.

LETTER XXVII.
DESAGUA. CARRIAGES. MULES. TROOPS. MUSIC. OPERA. RECRUITS.
THEATRES. MEXICAN THIEVES. THE JUDGE AND TURKEY.
Mexico, lying in the lap of a valley, with mountains around it contin
ually pouring their streams into the sandy soil, has been frequently in
danger of returning to the " slime from whence she rose." Since the
trees have been cut from the plains and the surface exposed to the direct-
action of the sun, the valley has become drier and the lake has shrunk ;
but Mexico has, nevertheless, been several times threatened with inunda
tions. In estimating the dangerous situation of the Metropolis, it is necessary
for you to recollect the position and levels of the adjacent lakes. South-
eastwardly is the lake of Chalco; northwestwardly the lake of Tezcoco;
and north of that again, in a continuous chain, are the lakes of San Cris-
toval and Zumpango. The latter sheet of water is about eighteen feet
higher than San Cristoval, — San Cristoval is twelve feet higher than Tez
coco, — and the level of the great Square of Mexico is not more than three
feet above that of Tezcoco. Thus, the head of water which could be
easily poured over the Capital is immense, especially as the river Cuautit-
lan pours an additional stream constantly into the northern link of the
chain at Zumpango. In 1629 the whole city of Mexico, with the ex
ception of the Plaza, was laid waste by inundation. In most of the streets
the water continued for upward of three years, and, until 1634, portions
of the town were still traversed by canoes.
So great was the misery and want caused by this misfortune, that the
Court of Spain had issued orders to abandon the Capital and build a new
one, between Tacuba and Tacubaya, on upland levels, that had never
been reached by the lakes before the conquest. An earthquake, how
ever, rent the earth and freed the city of the accumulated waters ; and
the result of this warning was the completion of an immense Desagua or
sewer, which thoroughly empties the ordinary contents of the valley. But
urgent as was the necessity for this work, it was procrastinated by the
dilatoriness of Mexican laborers, until the year 1789. " The whole length
of the cut," is said by Mr. Ward, "to be, from the sluice called Vertide-
ros, to the salto of the river Tula, 67,537 feet ; where the waters are
discharged at a spot about 300 feet beneath the level of the lake of Zum-

TERMINATION OF AQUEDUCT IN MEXICO.

SPANISH AQUEDUCTS. 283
pan'go." The estimate of the whole cost of this gigantic enterprise, and
its necessary repairs, until the year 1830, is' $8,000,000 ; yet, with all
the expenditure and vast labor, it may still prove, in certain cases, only
efficacious against a portion of the waters that are collected in the val
ley. South of the Capital are the lakes of Chalco and Xochimilco, and
their level is more than a yard higher than that of the great Square of
Mexico. This Desagua, and the noble aqueducts by which the city is supplied,
are the only very great enterprises, of this character, in the country ;
and they are all owing to the energy of the old Spanish government,
which emulated the magnificence of the Romans in its public improve
ments, connected with elegance and comfort. During the royal sway
the roads, also, were properly made and repaired ; but since the Revo
lution, when most of them were torn up to prevent the passage of troops,
or destroyed by the transit of artillery, they have been abandoned to
the weather and travel, so that in fact, (with the exception of the high-
way to Vera Cruz, which has recently been improved,) there is scarcely
a road in the Republic that does not resemble more the deserted bed of
a mountain stream, than a work intended to facilitate communication.
The idea of " internal improvements'' has never entered into the cal
culation of these people ; — though, some years since, a scheme was
set on foot to construct a railway from the coast to the Capital, and its
practicability proved by a scientific reconnoissance. Adventures of this
character will be the first evidences of the growth of mind among the
masses in Mexico, when they are taught to believe that they have other
sources of wealth besides mines, and that riches do not consist alone in
gold and silver. Until that period, the patient and toilsome mule will
continue to be the means of transportation of the chief burdens from the
sea to the interior.
If we suppose it to be perfectly practicable to make a railway of about
350 miles in length, with all its sinuosities, from Vera Cruz to the Cap
ital, I think the following estimate may be reasonably made of the profits
of such an enterprise ; especially, when it is recollected that the distance
will be passed in less than 24 hours, instead of four days, (as at present in
the diligence,) and from eighteen to twenty-five days, by mules and wagons.
Cost of Railway, say, - - - $6,000,000
Motive power, cars, &c. - 200,000
Contingent expenses, - - 300,000
$6,500,000

The interest on which, per annum, at 6 per cent, will be $390,000
It may be estimated, that about fifty thousand tuns are imported an-
nually into Vera Cruz. A tun weight is transported usually on about
seven mules, each mule load being worth $25, from Vera Cruz to Mexico.

284 MEXICO.
Fifty thousand tuns will then cost for transportation $8,750,000. But
suppose we take only the half, or twenty-five thousand tuns to be trans
ported to the interior, and we shall have for the cost, $4,375,000, for
the annual value of mule freight.
I think it would be perfectly fair to consider this sum as the income of
a railway, (at least, during the first years of the enterprise,) especially
when the transportation of passengers and the speed with which merchants
will be served with their goods, are taken into consideration as induce
ments. The statement of freights which I have made above, is only of carriage
to the Capital ; an equal sum, nearly, may be expected to cover the trans
portation from it, including passengers, and pay for the portage of coin
and bullion to the coast. But, if nothing more than $4,375,000, in all,
are raised as income, you will perceive that the road must pay for itself
in less than two years, or yield (after deducting expenses,) more than
thirty per cent, to its shareholders. If the low cost of the railway is
objected to, let the estimate be doubled, and still the profits will be pro-
portionably great, if we take into account the extension of business that
will be created by the increase of faoilities.
I think it may be safely stated, that two thousand passengers pass over
the road every year between Vera Cruz and Mexico, each paying $50
for his seat, or, $100,000 in all. How great would be the increase of
travelling — the security of life and property from robbers — the induce
ments to trade — and the general promotion of the prosperity of the Re
public, by an outlay of money at so profitable an interest !*
MEXICAN COACHES AND MULES.
Not the least singular of the sights of the Metropolis, are the mules
harnassed to the antique vehicles still used by some of the old-fashioned
folks of Mexico. The carriage is usually quite globular, or tun-like,
with its doors and sides covered with elaborate gilding and painting.
This clumsy cavity is suspended on a carved and gaudy-colored frame
work, or square scaffolding, resting on enormous wheels ; and the whole
machine has the appearance of a big fly hanging in the midst of a
spider-web. A long pole extends in front, to which are attached a pair
of mules, almost hidden in a heavy harness studded with brass bosses and
shining ornaments, while the tails of the luckless animals are invariably
stuck into leathern bags by way of queue ! A postillion, with short jacket,
of brown stamped leather, embroidered with green braid ; stout leggings,
* Since the above was written, I learn that the Government has issued orders for the repair and improvement of
roads all over the Republic. An enterprise has been actually set on foot by Mexican merchants of great wealth
and respectability, to open a communication with the Pacific, across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, partly by
railway. The railway from Vera Cruzto the river San Juan, in the direction of Jalapa, has also been commenced, and
laborers are already at woit on four miles of the twenty-one of which it is to consist.

TROOPS OF THE LINE.

285

spurs with two-inch rowels ; broad-brimmed hat, and whip of sounding
thong, bestrides one of the beasts ; and the whole apparatus moves off
with a slow lumbering pace, that resembles in motion and appearance
nothing that I can now recollect, but one of those old-fashioned wooden
' houses, that, in times long past, we used to see removed from street to
street, until they disappeared in the suburbs.
Even the riding horses of the Mexicans are not yet freed from the an
cient lumber and trappings with which their ancestors covered them. At
page 163, you will find a picture of a Mexican horseman, and observe
that the animal's haunches are covered with a sort of hemisphere of leather
terminated by an iron fringe, that jingles with every movement. This
cumbrous hide was originally designed, at the period of the conquest, as
an armor for the protection of the horse from Indian arrows, while the
guard was continued in front of the beast by a similar apron that shielded
his neck and throat. But now, although there are no more assailants of
the peaceful riders, you may still frequently observe this uncouth cover
ing on the finest animals ; and the apology for the usage is, that by contin
ually striking on a certain point of his hind legs with the lower fringe of
iron, the horse is forced into a short, ambling trot, which is held to be the
summum bonum of Mexican comfort in the saddle. I confess, that I saw
no beauty in the mincing gate which is thus acquired, especially as the
animal most celebrated for it in Mexico scarcely advanced a dozen yards
in a minute, while, from the amount of exercise he appeared to be taking,
and the incessant pawing of his feet and chafing of his bit, an observer
would be induced to believe that he advanced at a furious pace. It
is one of those capricious luxuries to which men resort, when they have
exhausted the round of natural and simple tastes.
I have forgotten to say anything to you hitherto of the parades of troops,
for which this Capital is in some degree famous. As I profess to have
no military knowledge, you must not expect a very critical account of
their appearance or manoeuvres ; but I have seldom seen better looking
regiments in Europe than the 11th Infantry, under the command of Lom-
bardini. The uniform is white, like the Austrian, and is kept in excel
lent order. The arms are clean and bright, and the officers of division
appear to be well trained, and to have imparted their training to the men.
On the 13th of June last, about eight thousand of these troops were brought
together, to be reviewed by General Santa Anna, on the meadows south
of the city. In line they had an extremely martial bearing, and, so far
as I was able to judge of their skill, the sham-fight that took place after
ward was admirably executed. Excellent and daring riders, as are all
the Mexicans, they must ever have a decided advantage in their cavalry;
and, although they did not present so splendid an appearance m equip
ments as some of the other regiments, I have no doubt they constitute
the most effective arm of the Mexican service. Indeed, almost all the
foreigners (and even Texans,) with whom I have spoken m regard to

286 MEXICO.
the qualities of these men, concur in a high estimate of the Mexican
soldier, although they do not think so well of the Mexican officer. This,
in all probability, arises from the irregular manner in which persons
arrive at command, and the want of soldierlike education and discipline.
Officers have been, most frequently, taken at once from private life, or
pursuits by no means warlike, and found themselves suddenly at the head
of troops, without a knowledge of their duties, either in the barrack, camp,
or field ; or a due estimate of the virtues of obedience, and that disciplined
courage, arising from a perfect self-reliance in every emergency. The
result of this unfortunate state of things has been, that, in conflicts with
the Texans, while the men have often appeared anxious to fight, they lacked
officers who were willing to lead them into the thick of the meUe.
You can fancy nothing more odd, than the manner in which this army
is recruited. A number of men are perhaps wanted to complete a new
company, and a sergeant with his guard is forthwith dispatched to inspect
the neighboring Indians and Meztizoes. The subaltern finds a dozen or
more at work in the fields ; and, without even the formality of a request,
immediately picks his men and orders them into the ranks. If they at
tempt to escape or resist, they are at once lassoed ; and, at nightfall, the
whole gang is marched, tied in pairs, into the quartet of the village or
the guardroom of the Palace, with a long and lugubrious procession of
wives and children, weeping and howling for the loss of their martial
mates. Next day the " volunteers" are handed over to the drill-sergeant;
and I have often laughed most heartily at the singular group presented
by these new-caught soldiers, on their first parade under their military
tutor. One half of their number are always Indians, and the rest, most
likely, leperos. One has a pair of trowsers, but no shirit; another a shirt
and a pair of drawers ; another hides himself, as well as he can, under his
blanket and broad-brimmed hat ; another has drawers and a military cap.
But the most ridiculous looking object I remember to have seen in Mexico,
was a fat and greasy lepero, who had managed to possess himself of a
pair of trowsers that just reached his hips, and were kept up by a strap
around his loins, together with an old uniform coat a great deal too short
for him, both in the sleeves, and on the front. As he was not lucky
enough to own a shirt, a vast continent of brown stomach lay shining in
the sun between the unsociable garments ! He held his head (which was
supported by a tall stock,) higher than any man in the squad, and marched
magnificently — especially in " lock step !"
The drilling of these men is constant and severe. The sergeant is
generally a well-trained soldier, and unsparing in the use of his long
hard rod for the slightest symptom of neglect. In a few weeks, after the
new troops acquire the ordinary routine of duty, they are put into uniform,
paraded through the streets, and you would scarcely believe they ever had

MUSIC, OPERA, THEATRES. 287
been the coarse Indians, and scurvy leperos, who robbed you on the road
or pilfered your pockets in the streets.
It would be improper, in speaking of the Mexican military, not to notice,
especially, their excellent bands of music. The Spaniards transplanted
their love and taste for this beautiful science to Mexico. The Indians
have caught the spirit from their task-masters ; — and whether it be in the
tinkling guitar or the swelling harmonies of a united corps, you can scarce
go wrong, in expecting an exhibition of the art from a native. It is the
custom for one of the regimental bands to meet after sundown, under the
windows of the Palace, in the Plaza, which is filled with an attentive
crowd of eager listeners to the choicest airs of modern composers.
I have said, that this musical taste pervades all classes ; and it was,
therefore, to be hoped, that a regularly established Operatic corps would
have readily succeeded in the Capital. But from a variety of causes the
experiment failed. The Revolution of 1841, interfered with it at the out
set, in the months of August and September ; and, from the unfavorable
location of the house, and other circumstances, the whole enterprise was
visited with a series of disastrous losses that left the management, in July,
1842, with a deficit of upward of 32,000 dollars. The singers were
good ; the prima donna (Madame Castellan,) and basso, unexceptionable;
but the establishment never became fashionable.
Not so, however, with the Theatres ; — three of which were almost con
stantly in operation while I resided in Mexico. The "Principal," the
resort of the old aristocracy, was the theatre of staid fashion ; — the
"Nuevo Mexico," a haunt of the newer people, who looked down on the
"legitimate drama," and tolerated the excitement of innovation and nov
elty ; — and the " Puente Quebrada," a species of San Carlino, where
" the people" revelled in the coarser jokes and broader scenes of an ad
libitum performance.
I frequently visited the Principal, but kept a box with several young
friends at the Nuevo Mexico, where I found the greatest advantage in
the study of the Spanish language, from the excellent recitations of the
" comicos." Most of them were Castillians, who spoke their native tongue
with all the distinctive niceties of pronunciation, besides producing all
the newest efforts of the Spanish muse.
It was singular to observe, how from a small beginning and really
excellent performances, the taste and wealth of Mexico was gradually
drawn from its old loves at the Principal to the daring upstart. I have
elsewhere told you that the theatre is a Mexican necessary of life. It is
the legitimate conclusion of a day, and all go to it ;— the old, because they
have been accustomed to do so from their infancy ; the middle aged, be-

288 MEXICO.
cause they find it difficult to spend their time otherwise ; and the young,
for a thousand reasons Which the young will most readily understand.
The boxes are usually let by the month or year, and are, of course,
the resort of families who fill them in full dress every evening, and use
them as a receiving-room for the habitues of their houses ; although it is
not so much the custom to visit in the theatre as in Italy.
The pit is the paradise of bachelors. Its seats are arm-chairs, rented
by the month, and of course never occupied but by their regular owners.
The stage is large, and the scenery well painted; but the whole per-
formance becomes rather a sort of mere repetition than acting, as the
" comicos" invariably follow the words, uttered in quite a loud tone by
a prompter, who sits in front beneath the stage with his head only
partially concealed by a wooden hood. A constant reliance on this
person, greatly impairs the dramatic effect, and makes the whole little
better than bad reading ; but I was glad to perceive that the actors of
Nuevo Mexico had evidently studied their parts, and really performed the
characters of the best dramas of the Spanish school.
I cannot but think this habitual domestication at the theatre, is injurious
to the habits of the Mexicans. It makes their, women live too much abroad,
and cultivates a love of admiration. The dull, dawdling morning at home,
is succeeded by an evening drive ; and that, again, by the customary seat
at the Opera or Play-house, where they listen to repetitions of the same
pieces, flirt with the same cavaliers, or play the graceful with their
fans. If the entertainments were of a highly intellectual character, or
a development of the loftier passions of the soul, (as in the master-pieces
of our English school,) there would be some excuse for an indulgence
of this national taste ; but the disposition of the audiences is chiefly
directed, either toward comedy, or to a vapid melodrama in the most
prurient style of the modern French. Love and murder, — crime and
wickedness, — have converted the stage into a dramatic Newgate, where
sentimental felons and beautiful females, whose morality is as question
able as the color of their cheeks, are made by turns to excite our wonder
and disgust.

MEXICAN ROGUERY.
When giving you an account, the other day, of Mexican prisons and
prisoners, I forgot to relate some anecdotes that are told in the Capital of
the adroitness of native thievery.
Some time since, an English gentleman was quietly sauntering along
the Portales — the most crowded thoroughfare of Mexico — his attention

IMPUDENT AND ADROIT THIEVES. 289
being occupied with the variety of wares offered for sale by the small
dealers ;— when, suddenly, he felt his hat gently lifted from his head
Before he could turn to seize the thief, the rascal was already a dozen
yards distant, dodging through the crowd.
Upon another occasion, a Mexican was stopped in broad daylight, in a
lonely part of the town, by three men, who demanded his cloak.' Of
course, he very strongly objected to parting with so valuable an article ;
when two of them placed themselves on either side of him, and the
third, seizing the garment, immediately disappeared, leaving the victim
in the grip of his companions.
His cloak gone, he naturally imagined that the thieves had no further
use for him, and attempted to depart. The vagabonds, however, told him
to remain patiently where he was, and he would find the result more
agreeable than he expected.
In the course of fifteen minutes their accomplice returned, and politely
bowing, handed the gentleman a pawnbroker's ticket!
" We wanted thirty dollars, and not the cloak," said the villain ; "here
is a ticket, with which you may redeem it for that sum ; and as the cloak
of such a Caballero is unquestionably worth at least a hundred dollars,
you may consider yourself as having made seventy by the transaction !
Vaya con Dios !"
A third instance of prigging, is worthy the particular attention of the
London swell mob ; and I question if it has been surpassed in adroitness,
for some time past, in that notorious city, where boys are regularly taught
the science of thieving, from the simple pilfer of a handkerchief, to the
compound abstraction of a gold watch and guard-chain.
A TALE OF A TURKEY.

As a certain learned Judge in Mexico, some time since, walked one
morning into Court, he thought he would examine whether he was in time
for business; and, feeling for his repeater — found it was not in his pocket.
"As usual," said he to a friend who accompanied him, as he passed
through the crowd near the door — "As usual, I have again left my
watch at home under my pillow."
He went on the bench and thought no more of it. The Court adjourned
and he returned home. As soon as he was quietly seated in his parlor,
he bethought him of his timepiece, and turning to his wife, requested her
to send for it to their chamber.
"But, my dear Judge," said she, " I sent it to you three hours ago !"
"Sent it to me, my dear ? Certainly not."
" Unquestionably," replied the lady, " and by the person you sent for it !"
" The person I sent for it !" echoed the Judge.
19

290 MEXICO.
" Precisely, my dear, the very person you sent for it ! You had not
left home more than an hour, when a well-dressed man knocked at the
door and asked to see me. He brought one of the very finest turkies I
ever saw ; and said, that on your way to Court you met an Indian with
a number of fowls, and having bought this one, quite a bargain, you had
given him a couple of reals to bring it home ; with the request that I would
have it killed, picked, and put to cool, as you intended to invite your
brother judges to a dish of molU with you to-morrow. And, ' Oh ! by the
way, Senorita,' said he, ' his Excellency, the Judge, requested me to ask
you to give yourself the trouble to go to your chamber and take his watch
from under the pillow, where he says he left it, as usual, this morning,
and send it to him by me.' And, of course, mi querido, I did so."
" You did ?" said the Judge.
" Certainly," said the lady.
" Well," replied his Honor, " all I can say to you, my dear, is, that
you are as great a goose, as the bird is a turkey. You've been robbed,
madam ; — the man was a thief; — I never sent for my watch ; — you've
been imposed on ; — and, as a necessary consequence, the confounded watch
is lost for ever !"
The trick was a cunning one ; and after a laugh, and the restoration of
the Judge's good-humor by a good dinner, it was resolved actually to have
the turkey for to-morrow's dinner, and his Honor's brothers of the bench
to enjoy so dear a morsel.
Accordingly, after the adjournment of Court next day, they all repaired
to his dwelling, with appetites sharpened by the expectation of a rare
repast. Scarcely had they entered the sala and exchanged the ordinary salu
tations, when the lady broke forth with congratulations to his Honor upon
the recovery of his stolen watch !
" How happy am I," exclaimed she, " that the villain was appre
hended !"
" Apprehended !" said the Judge, with surprise.
" Yes ; and doubtless convicted, too, by this time," said his wife.
" You are always talking riddles," replied he. " Explain yourself,
my dear. I know nothing of thief, watch, or conviction."
" It can't be possible that I have been again deceived," quoth the lady,
" but this is the story :
" About one o'clock to-day, a) pale, and rather interesting young gen
tleman, dressed in a seedy suit of black, came to the house in great haste
— almost out of breath. He said that he was just from Court; — that he
was one of the clerks; — that the great villain who had had the audacity
to steal your Honor's watch had just been arrested; — that the evidence
was nearly perfect to convict him ; — and all that was required to complete
it was 'the turkey,' which must be brought into Court, and for that he
had been sent with a porter by your express orders."
" And you gave it to him !"

IMPUDENT AND ADROIT THIEVES.

291

" Of course I did — who could have doubted him, or resisted the orders
of a Judge!"
" Watch — and turkey — both gone ! pray, what the devil, madam, are
we to do for a dinner ?"
But the lady had taken care of her guests, notwithstanding her simpli
city, and the party enjoyed both the joke and their viands.

19*

LETTER XXVIII.

MEXICAN CHARACTER.

I have adverted already in previous letters to the private character and
domestic customs of the Mexicans, and confess, that I came to the coun
try with opinions anything but favorable to the morals, tastes, or habits
of the people. It was alleged, that they entertained a positive antipathy
to foreigners, and that the exclusive system of Spain, under which they
were1 educated, had excited in them a distaste for innovation; an insouciant
contentment with the "statu quo;" and, in fact, had created in our New
World a sort of China in miniature.
I think it exceedingly reasonable, that the Mexicans should be shy of
foreigners. They have been educated in the strict habits of the Catholic
creed ; they know no language but their own ; the customs of their coun
try are different from others ; the strangers who visit them are engaged
in the eager contests of commercial strife ; and, besides being of differ
ent religion and language, they are chiefly from those northern nations,
whose tastes and feelings have nothing kindred with the impul
sive dispositions of the ardent south. In addition to the selfish spirit of
gain that pervades the intercourse of these visitors, and gives them no
character of permanency or sympathy with the country, they have been
accustomed to look down on the Mexicans with contempt for their obso
lete habits, without reflecting, that they were not justly censurable for
traditional usages which they had no opportunity of improving by com
parison with the progress of civilization among other nations.
Yet, treating these people with the frankness of a person accustomed
to find himself at home wherever he goes, avoiding the egotism of na
tional prejudices, and meeting them in a spirit of benevolence ; I have
found them kind, gentle, hospitable, intelligent, benevolent, and brave.
Among their better classes, no people see more clearly than they do the
vices of an ill-regulated society and the misery of their political condi
tion ; but, when rebuked in the presumptuous and austere spirit of arro
gant strangers, they repel the rudeness by distance and reserve. The
consequence is, that these disturbers of social decency are seldom the
chosen friends or inmates of their dwellings. The Mexicans are a proud

MEXICAN CHARACTER. 293
and sensitive people ; yet, none are more easily subdued by kindness 
none more easily won by a ready disposition to mingle in their ranks, and
treat them with a due respect for their habitudes and their prejudices.
There may be other reasons, too, why Mexicans have been jealously
shy of strangers. It seems impossible for them to get rid of the idea,
that European powers are seeking to obtain their wealth and territory,
and to reestablish the systems from which they freed themselves by so
many years of revolutionary war ; nor can they (since the Texan war,)
divest themselves of the erroneous notion, that the United States has evei
a longing eye on their Capital and country.
There are but few entertainments given in Mexico, in comparison with
those of other cities abroad, where a lavish expenditure in viands, lights,
and amusements for the few hours of a single evening, are mistaken for
the elegancies and refinements of genuine hospitality; — instead, however,
of these ostentatious displays, there are frequent reunions at turtulias,
where an hour or two are most agreeably spent in friendly intercourse,
and the unrestrained flow of pleasant and instructive conversation.
I have already alluded to the extreme of fashionable life, and its dispo
sition for the theatre ; and I do not intend to treat again of the propensity
of the ultras to living thus constantly in the public eye, without devoting
a portion of each day to that domestic intercourse and reunion which
make the comfort and beauty of an English or American fireside. I
speak, however, of tha.t juste milieu of society, wherein resides the virtue
and intellect of a country ; and I had an excellent opportunity of judging
of the private life of this class during my stay in the Capital.
It was my good fortune to reside for more than half a year in a native
family, once rich and titled, but broken in fortunes by the political and
commercial vicissitudes of the Republic, and it was there that I con
stantly witnessed the most beautiful evidences of a filial devotion and
parental love, amounting almost to passionate attachment. The lady at
the head of the establishment, (as I remarked in a preceding letter,) was
a person who had been distinguished for her talents and accomplishments
in the days when Mexico was adorned with the splendor of a Spanish
court. She would have been considered highly cultivated in any coun
try ; her manners were excellent ; her bearing graceful and courteous ;
and a wide circulation in her youth among distinguished men, (both before
and during the Revolution,) and a ready talent for imparting her recol
lections, made her conversation delightful and instructive. Besides this,
she possessed a genius for miniature painting and sketching in crayons,
rarely attained by a female, and worthy of a distinguished artist. Qual
ities, like these, brought around her constantly a large and intelligent cir
cle of both sexes. The change of fortune had by no means diminished
her estimation in society, and the numbers of fast friends who adhered to

294 MEXICO.
her in her comparative indigence, proved their admiration of talent, and
the constancy of attachment, by the repetition of the most delicate and
disinterested assiduities.
It was in this Mexican home, and not from the unsympathizing dis
tance of the hotel and ball-room, (the scene of most travellers' observa
tion,) that I obtained my insight into the structure of Mexican society and
character. Had I kept myself aloof in my own house or my own inn,
as is the habit of foreigners, I should have judged from the theatre, the
passeo, the bull-ring, the cock-pit, and the gaming-table ; that the women
were but so many painted dolls, without more education or soul than was
required to languish over a love-sick play, or to ogle, with idle gaze,
a favored cavalier. I might have supposed, too, that the men were
supremely blessed by this dalliance with the sex, and considered them
selves in perfect elysium when they could divide their attention be
tween their sirens, their horses, and the card-table ; — but in the privacy
of this dwelling, I learned to estimate the love and regard between pa
rents and children ; the beautiful benevolence of ancient friendship ; the
universal respect for genius ; and, besides, had frequent occasion to no
tice the expanding spirit, ardent patriotism, desire of cultivation, and quick
talent, which embellish the Mexican character.
It must not be said that I am estimating a country by one example ; — I
am as far from so partial a judgment, as the opponents of Mexico are
from a just one on their side of the question. It is true, that this family
afforded me an extensive field of observation, but it chiefly served to stim
ulate my attention and inquiries elsewhere ; and I can frankly declare,
that wherever I observed, I invariably found the same qualities of head
and heart. It is this heart that is in fact the great characteristic of Mex
icans, and especially of their females. There is a noble naturalness, an
antique generosity about them, which is the parent of a multitude of vir
tues, and it is by an abandonment of themselves to impulses, that so much
irregularity and indiscretion have been frequently manifested, both in
politics and society.
I have said that the Mexicans are a people of quick talent, and my re
mark is borne out by the observation of all foreigners. They are quick
to apprehend, quick of study, and quick in mastering a subject ; but this
very facility, joined with their impulsiveness, is often fatal to their en
during application and progress.

I came among these people an entire stranger, without especial claims
on their attention, and studious to avoid that bill of exchange hospitality,
which is the result of introductory letters from former, and, perhaps, for
gotten acquaintances. Yet mingling freely among all classes, and com
paring them now — when gratitude for acts of kindness has been long
yielded and the annoyance of petty impertinences forgotten — I have none
but kindly recollections of the people, and none but favorable impressions

MEXICAN CHARACTER.

295

of the mass of a society, in which I had been taught to believe that I
should be held in utter antipathy as a heretical stranger.
There are, of course, in Mexico as in all other countries, specimens of
egotism, selfishness, haughtiness, ill-breeding, and loose morals, both
among the men and the women ; but, although we find these floating-like
bubbles on the top of society, they must not therefore be considered the
characteristics of the country. You must separate from the multitude the
few who sometimes lead and control the masses that do not wish to come
in contact or conflict with them. A nation in which " revolutions and coun
ter-revolutions are events of almost daily occurrence, is naturally prolific
in desperate and crafty political adventurers," and dissimulation and strat
agem may, in time, form the chief element of the character of such a
people ; — yet such, it is hoped, is not to be the corrupting fate of Mexico.
The idea that large social entertainments require great magnificence
and lavish expense, deprives the Mexicans, in their towns, of many of
those agreeable gatherings which fill up so pleasantly our winter nights
and autumn evenings ; but it is on their haciendas or plantations, that
their hospitality is most distinguished. As you had occasion to remark
in the account of my journey to the tierra caliente, nothing is withheld
from you ; — their establishments are placed at your entire control, and
the welcome is as sincere as it is hearty and cheerful.
That they are brave, none will doubt, who read the history of their War
of Independence, although the bad discipline (especially of their officers,)
has prevented the very eminent exhibition of this quality in their foreign
battles. In fact, regard them in any way, and they will be found to pos
sess the elements of a fine people who want but peace and the stimu
lus of foreign emulation, to bring them forward among the nations of the
earth with great distinction.
Their geographical position, however, is very unfavorable for this emu
lative stimulus. They are placed among the mountains, on an isthmus con
necting two large Continents, while their territory is washed by two seas.
They are cut off by a large belt of savage country from us at the north,
and the communication with Europe is both distant and uncertain. They
have a small population, spread over an immense territory, and want,
therefore, both the constant comparison of the intellect of other nations,
and social compacting or aggregation among themselves. I can (from
personal experience,) state how disagreeable is this want of intercourse
with the rest of the world. There is intelligence from the United States,
perhaps, once a month, and about as often from Europe. The informa
tion brought by these arrivals, passes chiefly into the hands of the mer
chants,— and, after a while, is gradually translated in fragments for
some of the meagre newspapers, which treat you, months afterward, to
a refacciamento of the stories or improvements that you had already for
gotten. In this respect, our community of language with Great Britain is

296 MEXICO.
of vast importance to us. England acts the part of an editor for the United
States. She collects the news, the literature, the progressive inven
tions, and the genius of the old world, with unparalleled activity;—
and we are always, at farthest, but twelve days behind her in diffusing
these results among the seventeen millions of our own people. But it
may be feared, that it will be long before Mexico imitates our example.
Spain is not an England, in intellectual energy or advancement ; and the
day has not yet arrived in Mexico when a work in two volumes can be
printed, bound, and distributed to her chief cities within twenty-four hours
after its reception from Europe.
I am afraid the tendency of our sister Republic is too much toward the
opposite extreme. She has not disenthralled herself from the Spanish big
otry which inculcated the idea that a nation must do all for herself, without
a commercial marine of her own to carry on a well-regulated commerce.
This seems to me to be a churlish policy, and is as likely to make boors
of the people who practice it, as seclusion is calculated to make ascetics
of those who refuse to mingle with the world, and improve their spirits by
a free interchange of opinions and feelings. It is well to live where you
feel the beatings of the great pulse of society ; and it is time that man
should remember he is not a mere machine, whose account with time is a
balance-sheet between such productive manual powers as God has given
him, and certain fearful columns of dollars and cents.
In the summary I have endeavored to present you, of the Mexican
character, I must not be charged with inconsistency by those who think I
am contradicting what I have previously advanced, either about supersti
tious customs, or the vices that consign so many to the prison, and make
others so reckless of life and fortune. These are evils begotten by the
times and want of resources. At present, I treat neither of political
nor social gamblers ; neither of female frailties, nor that crafty duplicity
which leads to high places in the state ; neither of genteel vagrancy,
nor the outcast leperos and ignorant Indians who form so large a por
tion of the population of the country. All these are numerous enough
and bad enough. But it has been my task — amid the desolation and ruin
of the country — amid the dust and ashes to which a great nation has been
reduced by civil war — to seek for some living embers, and to discover
sufficient elements of a sound and healthful society, from which the re
generation of the country may be expected. With domestic virtue,
genius, and patriotism, no people need despair ; and it must be the prayer
of every republican that enough of these still remain in Mexico to recon
struct their government and their society.
I will not venture, however, upon any conjectures in regard to these
matters, until I speak of the political prospects of the country.

LETTERS

ON THE

TERRITORY, POPULATION, COMMERCE, MANUFACTURES,

ARMY, NAVY, REVENUES, CHURCH, MINES,

COINAGE, EDUCATION, POLITICAL

HISTORY, &c. &c. &c.

OF

MEXICO.

LETTER XXIX.
TERRITORY. POPULATION AND DEPARTMENTS. RATIO OF CASTES AND EDU
CATION. SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. PERIODICALS.
According to the best authorities, the territory of the Mexican Republic
contains an area of 1,650,000 square miles, and the United States of
America, 2,300,000. If we allow, as is calculated, that the square mile
will maintain, under ordinary careful cultivation, a population of 200 per
sons, we shall have the sum of 330,000,000 for the total ultimate capa
bility of the Mexican soil, and 460,000,000 for the United States,— or,
130,000,000 less in Mexico than in our Union.
It may be well for us to continue this comparative statement somewhat
further. In the year —
1753 ouk Population was estimated at - . - . 1,051,000
1790 " "  3,929,827
1800 " "  5,305,925
1810 " "  7,239,814
1820 " "... - 9,638,131
1830 " "  12,854,880
1840 " "  17,069,453
I regret that there are not equally correct data for the statistics of popu
lation in Mexico. The census has been carelessly made at several peri
ods, and I will endeavor to present you with what are deemed the most
accurate estimates.
In 1793, according to the report made to the King of Spain by the Conde
de Revellagigedo, the population of New Spain, exclusive of the Intend-
encies of Vera Cruz and Guadalaxara, was as follows :
Indians,  2,319,741
Europeans, - - ..... 7,904
White Creoles,  677,458
Different castes,  1,478,426
4,483,529
To which add the population of Vera Cruz and Guadalaxara,
according to the estimate of 1803, .... 786,500
Total population in 1793, .... x 5,270,029

300 MEXICO.
The Baron Humboldt estimates it to have been in the year 1803,
5,837,100; and Mr. Poinsett, in 1824, (from the best data of the period,)
.6,500,000. In 1830, Mr. Burkhardt, an accurate German traveller, rates the sev
eral classes of Mexicans thus :
Indians,  4,500,000
Whites, - - - 1,000,000
Negroes, -  6,000
Mestizos, and other castes, . . 2,490,000
Total, - - - 7,996,000
Another estimate in 1839> reduces the sum to 7,065,000, and gives
eight inhabitants to ihe square mile ; but the most complete, and, probably,
the most accurate of the recent calculations, is the one which was made
by the Government itself, (without special enumeration,) and served as
a basis for the call of a Congress to form a new Constitution, under the
plan of Tacubaya in 1842.
Departments. Population.
Mexico,  1,389,520
Jalisco,  679,311
Puebla, -  661,902
Yucatan,  580,948
Guanajuato,  . 512,606
Oajaca,  500,278
Michoacan,  - 497,906
San Luis Potosi,  321,840
Zacatecas,  . 273,575
Vera Cruz,  . 254,380
Durango, .... . 162,618
Chihuahua, - .... . 147,600
Sinaloa  147,000
Chiapas, -  141,206
Souora, . ... ... 124,000
Queretazo,  120,560
Nuevo Le"on, -  101,108
Tamaulipas,  100,068
Coahuila, -  75,340
Aguas Calientes,  69,698
Tabasco, .  63,580
Nuevo Mexico, - „ 57,026
Californias, .... . 33,439
Total in 1842, .... 7,015,509
Since the year 1830, the population of the Republic has been dread
fully ravaged by smallpox — measles and cholera. In the Capital alone,
it is estimated that about 5000 died of the first named of these diseases,
2000 of the second, and from 15,000 to 20,000, of the third. The mor
tality must have been in a corresponding ratio throughout the territory.

POPULATION AND EDUCATION. 301
I am, however, by no means satisfied that the estimates of both Poinsett
and Burkhardt are not too high ; yet, assuming the statements of 1842
and of 1793 to be nearly accurate, we find in 49 years an increase of
only 1,774,111 in the entire population. Again, if we assume the popu
lation to have been 6,000,000 in 1824, (the year, in fact, of the establish
ment of the Republic,) we find that in the course of 18 years of liberty
and independence, the increase has not been greater than 1,044,140.
In the United States of America, with only 650,000 more of square
miles of territory now, and not so large a space at the achievement of our
independence, the increase of our population during the first twenty years
of freedom, cannot have been less than two millions and a half, while, in
the course of the last thirty years, it has averaged an increase of rather
more than 33 per cent, every ten.
The several castes and classes of Mexicans may be rated in the follow.
ing manner :

Indians, ...

4,000,000

Whites, . . ....

1,000,000

Negroes, ----- . .

6,000

All other castes, such as Zambos, Mestizos, Mulattoes, &c,

2,009,509

7,015,509
It appears, therefore, that the Indian and Negroes amount to 4,006,000,
and the whites, and all other castes, to 3,009,509. A very respectable
and aged resident of Mexico, who is remarkable for the extent and accu
racy of his observations, estimates that of the former (or Negroes and In
dians,) but two per cent, can read and write, while of the latter, at a lib
eral estimate, but about 20 per cent.
If we take this computation to be correct, as I believe from my own
observation it is, — and using the estimate of the decree of 1842 for the
basis of the population, we shall have :
Of Indians and Negroes who can read, ..... 80,120
Of Whites and all others  - 607,628

Total able to read and write out of a population of 7,000,000, 687,748
This would appear to be a startling fact in a Republic the basis of whose
safety is the capacity of the people for an intellectual self-government.
Let us, however, carry this calculation a little further. If we suppose that
out of the 1,000,000 of Whites, 500,000, or the half only, are males,
and of that half million, but 20 per cent., or but 100,000 can read and
write ; we will no longer be surprised that a population of more than seven
millions has been hitherto controlled by a handful of men, or that, with
the small means of improvement afforded to the few who can read, the

302 MEXICO.
selfish natures of the superior classes, who wield the physical and intel
lectual forces of the nation, have forced the masses to become little more
than the slaves of those whose wit gives them the talent of control.
In addition to this, you will observe how little has been done hitherto for
the cause of learning by the Government, when you examine a table of
the expenses of the nation, by which it will be seen, that in the year
1840, while $180,000 were spent for hospitals, fortresses, and prisons,
and $8,000,000 for the army, (without a foreign war !) only $110,000 were
given to all the institutions of learning in Mexico.*
I learn, however, with pleasure, that under the new scheme of national
regeneration which has recently been put in action, the subject of Education
has engaged the especial attention of the existing powers, and that they
design to foster it by every means in their power.
In every one of the parishes into which the city is divided, there is estab
lished a school for boys, and another for girls, supported by the Ayunta-
miento, or Town Council. In these establishments the pupils are taught,
without charge, to read, write, and calculate, and are besides instructed
in religious and political catechisms. In the schools for girls, in addition
to these branches, they learn sewing and other occupations suitable
for their sex. Books and stationery are furnished gratis.
There is another establishment called the Normal School, supported by
the Government, and devoted to the instruction of the soldiers of the army
in the rudiments of learning. Advancement and improvement in this
school are suitably rewarded by ranks in the army. Besides this, there
is, also, a Lancasterian Company, which^ commencing its labors in
the Capital, is spreading its branches all over the country. It is devoted
to primary instruction, and is protected by all the citizens of the Republic
who are remarkable either for their wealth, education, or social posi
tion. The contribution is a dollar monthly. I am glad to learn that,
since I left Mexico, the usefulness of this Company has been so apparent
to the people, that schools upon its plan have not only been established in
the principal cities and towns, but that they are now being founded in
almost every village of importance, and even upon extensive haciendas or
plantations, where the laboring population is numerous and ignorant.
In the city of Mexico, this Company has formed a large number of
schools for children of both sexes, upon the same footing as those estab
lished by the Ayuntamiento ; that is to say, the pupils are taught without
* The United States Census for 1840, gives the following results-
Number of Universities and Colleges,  173
of Studentsin do  16,283
Academies and Grammar Schools  3,242
Students in do  164,159
Primary Common Schools  47,209
Scholars in do  1,845,244
Scholars at public charge,  468,264
Total number of whites in the United States  14,189,108
Total number of whites in the United States over the age of 20 who cannot read and write, 649,693

SCHOOLS AND SEMINARIES.

303

charge, and are furnished with the requisite stationery and books. There
is a Night School for adults, very fully attended by citizens, whose oc
cupation prevents them from devoting themselves to study during the day.
In the women's and men's Prisons, and in the House of Correction for juve
nile delinquents, I also learn that schools have been formed ; and it is by
no means a cheerless feature in this picture of dawning improvement,
that the ladies of Mexico, most distinguished by talent, wealth, and culti
vation, have gladly availed themselves of the opportunity to devote a
portion of their time for the purpose of instructing their unfortunate sisters
in the prisons.
Besides these establishments, (which you will observe, are all of a free
and public character,) it is difficult to give any idea of the number of pri
vate schools for both sexes in the Capital and Departments. Many of them
are conducted by foreigners as well as Mexicans, and although they gen
erally instruct in French, English, grammar, reading, writing, arithmetic,
geography, the rudiments of history, book-keeping, drawing, and music, I
have reason to believe that none of them are remarkable for the regu
larity or perfection of their system.
In the city of Mexico, there are the collegiate establishments of El
Seminario Conciliar, San Ildefonso, San Gregorio, and San Juan Lateran.
The first of these is under the immediate supervision of the Archbishop,
and supported by a portion of the ecclesiastical revenues. The other
three are under the care of the Government. In almost all the Depart
ments of the Republic, there are collegiate Institutes, and in some, even
two or three.
The course of instruction in these establishments is alleged to be thor
ough and modern. The students who Eve within the walls, are expected
to contribute for their education, while others, who only attend the lec
tures of the Professors, are exempt from all costs and charges, so that
about two-thirds of the pupils of every College receive their literary edu
cation gratuitously.
If peace be now permitted to reestablish her beneficial sway over the
country, and men's minds are allowed, in the general calm, to direct
themselves to their own and their children's culture, these institutions
cannot fail to afford the most rational hope to the well-wisher of Mex
ican prosperity and happiness. The regeneration of Mexico lies in her
schools. Without their success she must not expect to drive leperos
from the streets, or usurping Dictators from the Palace of her ancient
Kings. As an interesting Table connected with the diffusion of information, I
insert, in conclusion, the following statement of the number of newspa
pers and periodicals published in the Republic :

304 MEXICO.
In Chihuahua,  1
Coahuila, ...---.-..-1
Chiapas, ........--1
Colima, ......... -1
Durango, ..........2
Guauajuato, ...-...----2
Guadalaxara, ........--2
Aguascalientes, ........-- 1
Lagos, ........-1
Mexico, ........--- G
Morelia,  2
Monterey de N. Leon,  2
Matamoras, .......... 2
Oaxaca, .......... 2
Puebla,  2
Queretaro, .----...---1
Tobasco, .--.-....--1
Sonora, ...........1
Snialoa, - ......... 1
Tampico, - - - - - - ... -2
Ciudad Victoria, ..... ...1
Jalapa, ..........1
Vera Cruz, ..........2
Yucatan, ........... U
Zacatecas, -......-. 2
San Luis Potosi, ...-.-----2
Total, ...  44
Note.— I subjoin, for the sake of comparison, the following statistics of the printing in the United States,
according to tlie Census of 1840 :
Number of Printing Offices,  1.558
Binderies  447
" Daily Papers  138
Weekly "  1.141
Semi and Tri- Weekly,  125
" Periodicals,  227
" Men employed,  ;  11,523
Amount of capital employed,  r  $3,873,815

LETTER XXX.

COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES OF MEXICO.

The Commerce of Mexico has been sensibly diminishing for the last ten
years. This is attributable to the continual revolutionary disturbances
of the country, the decrease of the wealth of the people, and the pecu
niary embarrassments to which most of the inhabitants have been sub
jected, by the non-payment of Government loans and unfortunate invest
ments. In 1832 and 1833, the products of the Custom House amounted to about
twelve millions per annum. In 1839, on account of the French blockade,
they fell to near three millions ; in 1 840, they rose again to seven millions ;
and, in the following year, fell to little more than five, which sum may
be divided among the different ports as follows, to wit :
Vera Cruz, .... $3,329,802
Tampico,  883,039
Matamoras,  312,403
Marattan, .... - - 383,159
Guyamas, ...... 55,814
Monterrey, .... - 96,853
Acapulco, ..... 17,182
San Bias, - - ... 208,845
$5,287,097
This corresponds to about twelve millions three hundred thousand dol
lars of importation annually, divided (according to an estimate,) in the fol
lowing manner :
From England,  $4,500,000
« France,  3,000,000
« Hamburgh,  1,500,000
" China, ..... 1,000,000
" United States, -
" Spain, ------
" GeDoa, and other porta, . - -

800,000 500,000
1,000,000

$12300,000

20

306 MEXICO.
The expense to the Government, for the collection of this revenue,
was $348,290.
The Exports from the Republic, (chiefly of course of its own pro-
ductions,) may be rated at :
| f Specie, through Vera Cruz, ... - - $4,000,000
l»j " " Mazatlan and San Bias, - - - 2,500,000
P 1 Silver and Gold, through other ports, .... 5,000,000
£ [Silver, through Tampico, .... - 7,000,000
Cochineal, Jalap, Vanilla, Sarsaparilla and Hides, - - 1,000,000
Sundries,  500,000
$20,000,000
From this estimate, you perceive, that about $18,500,000, in the precious
metals, are exported annually from Mexico. The mines produce near
twenty-two millions of silver, of which, it is calculated, that twelve mill
ions are coined in the seven mints of the Republic, per annum.
From the above calculations, it will be observed, that there is a differ
ence of about $8,000,000 between the imports and exports, a large portion
of which is estimated to be covered by smuggling.
The following comparative estimate of the Exports and Imports of the
United States and of Mexico, for the years 1841 and 1842, cannot fail to be
interesting in this connection, especially when you take into consideration
the comparative extent of territory and population :
Exports from Mexico, in 1842,  $20,000,000
Of which, in gold and silver, ... . . 18,500,000
Balance in other products of industry, ..... $1,500,000
Excess of Imports over the industrial Exports, exclusive of the
precious metals,  $10,500,000
Imports of the United States in 1841-2, .... $99,357,329
Exports from " " "  104,117,969
Difference, $4,760,640
Exports of Gold and Silver, "  $9,805,235
Of which was the produce of U. S. Mines, - $2,746,486
" foreign Gold, .... 677,297
" " foreign Silver, .... 6,381,452
Total, $9,805,235
Whole exports from the United States, .... $104,117,969
Deduct exports of the Precious Metals, .... 9,805,235
$94,312,734

COMMERCE.

307

Or, in other words, the United States exported $94,312,734 worth, repre
senting her industry, (exclusive of gold and silver,) while Mexico, with a
territory nearly as large, exported but $1,500,000. In addition to this,
it must be recollected, that but $2,746,846 of the precious metals were
the product of our own country, while at least $15,000,000 were the
product of the Mexican mines ; leaving an excess of nearly three millions
above the total annual coinage of the nation.

Whole Exports, for say 8,000,000 people,
" " " 17,000,000 "

- $20,000,000
- 104,117,969

This will give us the ratio of about $6 12 \ for each person in the United
States, and $2 50 for each person in Mexico.
In order to afford some idea of Mexican commerce more in detail,
(so far as the Eastern Coast is concerned,) I have constructed the
following Table, the accuracy of which may be confidently relied on.
In regard to the Western Coast, it is impossible to state anything with
certainty. The chief contraband trade of the Republic has been carried
on there with the most unblushing audacity, until very recently ; and, of
course, statistical returns will tend rather to deceive than enlighten.
COMMERCE OF THE PORT OF VERA CRUZ.

ONE TEAK.

SIX MONTHS.

From 1st January to 31st December, 1841.

From 1st January, 1842, to 1st July.

Entries.

Departures.

Entries.

Departures.

American, 39

37

19

19

English, 45

42

26

21

French, 31

33

13

17

Spanish, 36

35

12

15

Hamburgh, 5

5

3

4

Danish, 5

4

1

1

Belgian, 3

3

1

0

Bremen, 4

4

1

1

Prussian, 2

2

2

0

Sardinian, 4

5

2

2

Colombian, 5

5

2

3

Mexican, 37

43

20

26

216

218

102

109

Passengers in 1841,  1'109
Immigrants, --.-•-•
Increase of population, .----«

20*

AMERICAN AND FOREIGN TRADE WITH TAMPICO, FROM 1st JANUARY TO 31st DECEMBER, 1841.

ARRIVALS.

DEPARTURES.

NATION.

No. of
vessels.

Tons.

No. of
crew.

Value of invoice
in jtTs sterling.

No. of
vessels.

Tons.

No. of
crew.

Value of invoice
in £'s sterling.

REMARKS.

United States

24

2,572

1C8

£49,025§

24

2,437

155

£119,840f

1 in port.

British Men-of-war and Packets

19

66,735

19

1,120,397
British Merchantmen
9
1,041
70
215,900
8
951
62
4,800
1 in port.
Mexican ....
18
864
120
14,800
18
885
123
3,960
1 in port.
Hanseatic ...
4
592
42
83,000
3
462
32
35,000
1 in port.
French -
6
690
65
64,300
10
1,290
110
40,000
Spanish . - -
9
1,004
89
26,000
7
786
70
2,000
2 in port.
Sardinian ....
1
110
9
6,000
1
110
9
600
Lost on the bar
going out.
Danish ....
1
62
5
1,200
1
62
5
91
6,935
568
£526,960|
91
6,983
567
£l,326,597f
o 00
N. B. — The pound sterling ia valued at five dollars United States currency.
AMERICAN AND FOREIGN TRADE WITH TAMPICO, FROM 1st JANUARY, TO 31st JUNE, 1842.

ARRIVALS.

DEPARTURES.

NATION.
No. of
Vessels.
Tons.
No. of
Crew.
Invoice Value of
Cargo.
No. of
Vessels.
Tons.
No. of
Crew.
Invoice Value of
Cargo.
REMARKS.
American, -
15
1277
91
$43,320
13
1092
83
$171,980
2 Vessels sold.
British Men-of-war and Packets,
14
269,953
14
2,845,240
All Specie.
British Merchantmen, -
8
1270
62
310,000
5
687
39
7,125
4 in port.
Mexicans, ...
20
976
142
58,000
17
983
119
8,250
2 "
Hanseatic, ....
2
260
19
105,000
2
260
19
5,000
1 "
French, ....
4
497
35
200,000
5
541
44
175,000
1 "
Spanish, ....
2
194
22
45,000
4
402
37
4,000
Sardinian, ...
1
136
7
25,000
1
136
7
3,000
Colombian, ....
1
57
10
6,000
1
57
10
4,000
67
4667
338
$1,062,245
62
4158
358
$3,223,505
sH
X
ao
N. B.— The importation in British Vessels and Royal Mail Steamers, is entirely quicksilver.
310 MEXICO.
TEADE WITH MATAMOEAS 1841.
The whole trade of 1841 was carried on in vessels from the United States :
Vessels 32 - Tonnage 2,345
EXPORTS TO THE UNITED STATES.
Specie -  $352,766^
Hides -  117,334
Wool  15,943
Horses and mules .... - 800
486,834^
IMPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES.

Countries where
manufactured.

Silks.

Woollens.

Cottons.

Linens.

Ironware and Ma
chinery.

Paper.

Jew elry.

Sundries.

Total.

Germany
England Spain
U. States
FranceHavana

$1,040 2,340

$25,046 4,148

$2,051
146,280 25,64031,480

$40,947 23,768 6,597

$3,921 15,120 270

$1,680

$452

$246
3,1408,060
66,140 5,334
13,245

$43,244 203,195 8,060
106,900 52,301 13,245

Tot.Values.

$3,380

29,194

205,451

71,312

19,311

1,680

452

96,165

426,945

It may be well for us to take heed of the gradual decline of our com
merce with Mexico, which has diminished to almost utter insignificance.
I am not merchant enough to divine what are the commercial causes of
this state of things ; but I can readily imagine, that, in connection with
the general difficulties of the country, our trade has been seriously
affected by the part which our citizens have taken, or are alleged to have
taken, in the insurrectionary movements of Texas. The rebellion in that
province, the union of a portion of North Americans with its armies, and
the sympathy of many others, expressed in a manner which I believe to
be both unwise and illegal, have caused our people to be unpopular
throughout the Republic, and have made the authorities averse to exhibit
ing that strict justice in our personal and commercial rights which should
characterize the intercourse of friendly nations. Our citizens have
been imprisoned in Mexico on frivolous pretences. Forced loans have
been wrested from our merchants. Tribunals have been deaf to demands
for restitution, and a mutual distrust has arisen, which has proved fatal
in many instances to trade and intercourse. The effects of this will,
however, be most strikingly exhibited in the following table, compiled
chiefly from the reports of the Secretary of our National Treasury.

COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO.
For the year ending 30th Septemher, 1823, the imports and exports to Mexico and
South America generally, were as follows :
Imports . . . . $4,842,503
Exports  3,229,343

$1,613,160 balance in our favor.

Of these imports

$1,950,416 were in specie and bullion.

STATISTICS OF TRADE.
TRADE WITH MEXICO FOR TWELVE YEARS.

311

Year ending 30th Sept. 1829

a it

1830

(. it

1832

H ft

1833

tt it

1834

¦*t t(

1835

(( tt

1836

it tt

1837

ii U

1838

a te

1839

tt ft

1840

ft tt

1841

Imports from Mexico.
$5,026,761
- 5,235,241
4,293,954
- 5,452,818
8,066,068 9,490,446
5,615,819
- 5,654,002
3,127,153
- 3,500,707
4,175,001
- 3,284,957

Exports to Mexico.
$2,331,151 4,837,4583,467,541 5,408,091
5,265,053
- 9,029,2216,041,635
3,880,323
2,787,362 2,164,097
2,515,3412,036,620

GOLD AND SILVER IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM MEXICO.

Bullion.

Specie.

S.America and Mexico in 1823

$121,970

$1,828,446

From Mexico

1836 -

68,546

4,468,872

if it

1837

165,429

4,405,549

te te

1838 .

- 230,183

2,459,243

tt te

1840

100,976

3,357,936

it tt

1841 -

51,184

1,886,918

By this you will observe, that, from having a trade worth upward of
$9,000,000 in 1835, we have been reduced to a comparatively insignifi
cant commerce of $1,000,000, at the extreme, in 1843 ! If peace be
restored in Mexico and mutual confidence reestablished, I can see no
cause why our interests may not become replaced on their ancient basis,
and a natural alliance firmly established between two sister Republics,
who, in addition to a community of political tendencies, are the closest
neighbors. England has striven for a two-fold object in Mexico. She has always
looked to her debt from that country as the great means of affecting her
commerce and manufactures, and ultimately, perhaps, of affording her a
claim for its satisfaction in territory.* If our Government was always
careful to have herself properly represented in that Republic by vigilant
persons, whose eyes were constantly open to the encroachments of foreign
Powers, and especially to the grasping tendencies of England ; and if, at
the same time, it took occasion upon every fitting opportunity, to sustain
the rights of our citizens by enforcing the reasonable and friendly ap
peals of its Representative ; I doubt not that, in a few years, Mexico
would awake from the spell of her foreign delusions, and remember the
hand that was first stretched forth to welcome her into the family of inde
pendent nations. She would have every reason to do so. The political
feelings of the mass of her intelligent men are decidedly republican.
Her own independence would be assured to her. The constant alliance
* Vide appendix, No. 1.

312

MEXICO.

of the United States would protect her in the event of a hostile foot being
set upon her shores. She would secure the integrity of this Continent,
and free her people from the dangers that menace them from abroad,
whenever a minister is obliged to dun her for her debts, or threaten her with
the " last argument " known to diplomats and nations.*
A favorite mode of raising loans in Mexico, for the benefit of the Gov
ernment, has been that of granting permits to merchants (chiefly English
men,) to introduce cotton twist into the Republic. This is a prohibited
article ; — prohibited for the purpose of cherishing the manufacturing es
tablishments of the country. That these have progressed to a very con
siderable extent, and have entirely outstripped ihe production of the cotton
planters of Mexico, will be seen by the annexed Table, which I have
obtained from the most authentic sources.
STATISTICS OF MEXICAN MANUFACTURES.

No. of Factories in each Department.

Spindles
established.

Spindles
In erection.

Total.

In Mexico,

12

30,156

—

30,156

" Puebla,

21

35,672

12,240

47,912

" Vera Cruz,

7

17,860

5,200

23,060

" Guadalaxara, -

5

11,312

6,500

17,812

" Queretaro,

2

7,620

—

7,620

" Durango, -

4

2,520

—

2,520

" Guanajuato,

1

1,200

—

1,200

" Sonora.

1

1,000

—

1,000

53

107,340

23,940

131,280

* I believe that there exists only a temporary ill feeling toward the United States. The people of that Republic
have been excited by the idea so industriously circulated by some of her leading men, (under foreign prompting I
think,) that our Government and citizens are all andunitedly, anxious for the success of Texas, in order to add
that territory to our own possessions. If the accomplished diplomats who now conduct the relations of the
countries prevail in dissipating this delusion, they will confer lasting benefits upon both Republics.
I did not design alluding, in this work, to the Texans or to the Santa Fe expedition ; but I cannot let this oc
casion pass without bearing testimony to the kind hearts and generous disposition of the Mexicans, m regard to
the prisoners of that ill-starred adventure. It is true, that several persons connected with it were travellers and
merchants only, utterly ignorant of the purposes of the rest; but I believe there is now no doubt that the great
body of the troops entertained the idea of revolutionizing the department of New Mexico. Yet these men were
neither court-marshalled nor executed. They were forced to undergo a long and fatiguing march to the Capi
(•al, and some of them were, in Mexico, Puebla and Perote, chained and treated with indignity by the officers
of the Government. But I have heard them all speak in terms of tlie most heartfelt gratitude of the continual
sympathy expressed for them by Vie citizens. The Mexicans visited them ; sent them food and raiment; inter
ceded for them, and used every effort to mitigate their sufferings. The officers were allowed many privileges by
their keepers, and, finally, the whole of them were released, after having sworn not to take up arms against
Mexico. Notwithstanding this oath, several of them had scarcely landed in Texas before they were again in hostile
array against the Government that freed them, and although some were once more seized upon tlie Mexican terri
tory, I learn that their lives have been spared, and that they will probably be again released.
I must be permitted, in this note, to mention tlie brave Colonel Cooke, (a native of Virginia, who commanded
a division of the expedition,) as one of those rare heroes, whose chivalry reminds us of the days of romance. At
the battle of San Jacinto, it is said, that he saved the life of Santa Anna by interposing himself between the infu
riated troops and the captured General, when he was brought into Houston's camp. I have been told that Santa
Anna remembered his name, as soon as he learned that a person called Cooke was in the Santa Fe expedition,
and resolved to release him if he proved to be his preserver. On Cooke's arrival at Mexico, the President sent for
and questioned him closely as to the facts, but Cooke steadily denied his identity. When reproved by his friends,
he exelaimed, that he would avail himself of no such advantage gained merely by honorable war, and that he
had resolved to share the fate of his companions, be itwhatit might. Together they had been captured, together
they would undergo the sufferings of imprisonment, and together they would be released, or die. He kept his
promise till the last, and on the 13th of June, 1842, marched at the head of his little band to the review at which
Santa Anna, in person, released them.

MANUFACTURES.

313

It must be remarked, that there are three manufacturing establishments
in the Department of Durango, the number of spindles in which, are not
included in the preceding Table, because the Junta de Industria had not re
ceived very definite information respecting them. They may, however,
be calculated at about 4000, which, added to the 131,280, will give a
grand total of 135,000, at least. The number of looms, also, in the Re
public is not presented, because data have been furnished only in relation
to those moved by machinery. An immense number of hand-looms are
in constant occupation throughout the Republic.

The Cotton Factories of the Republic consume, daily,
with the 107,340 spindles, in actual operation,
Which produce in spun thread, at the rate of J of a lb. for
each spindle, - - - -
Which, converted into mantas and rebosos, have a value of
II.
The same factories, after the 23,940 spindles in erection
are in operation, will consume daily,
Each spindle will produce of thread,
Which converted as aforesaid, will amount in value to
III.
The consumption of cotton, in the year, of 300 working
days, with 131,280 spindles, will be -
The produce in thread, - - -
The produce in manufactured value, as above, IV.
The 131,280 spindles, working day and night, will con
sume, ...---
Produce in thread, - - -
Produce in manufactured value, as above, V.
The 131,280 spindles will occupy (working only by day,)
« it •' (working day and night,)
No. of Operatives employed by day,
« « " day and night, -
VI.
It will require for the 131,280 spindles working by day,
The produce of the country, at the utmost, is not more than

Lbs.
39,75535,780

48,622 43,760

14,586,666 13,138,000

24,797,33222,317,600

Dollars.

39,358

48,037

14,440,800

24,549,360

8,753 looms.
14,880 "
17,000
29,000
145,666| quin. cotton.
50,000

Leaving a deficit of

95,666§
247,973i 50,000

197.973J quintals.

*Bntif the spindles work day and night, they will require,
Produce of the country, as above,
Leaving a deficit of
• At the town of Lowell, alone, they make nearly a miUion and a quarter yards of cotton clojh per week
of raw cotton used is 22,568.000 lbs. ; enough to load 50 ships ot &u tuns euca , au
70,215,910 yards-100 lbs. of cotton will produce 89 yards of cloth.

314 MEXICO.
The value of the Mexican manufacturing establishments may be stated,
in round numbers, at $10,000,000.
Hitherto the cotton crop of the Republic has not greatly exceeded 50,000
quintals ; which, calculated at a mean of $35 the quintal, will give a total
valuation of the produce at $1,750,000. The estimate I have presented
in the foregoing tables shows, however, that the spindles, working day and
night, will require 247,937£ quintals, or, in other words, that there is a
deficit of 197,973j>, which, valued at the same rate, will amount to
$6,929,072. It is true, that many persons have been induced by this condition of the
market, and the prohibition of importing the raw material, to commence
plantations of cotton ; but I greatly doubt whether the habits of the agri
cultural population will permit their prosperity. They dislike to adventure
in new branches of industry. If their ancestors wrought on cotton plan
tations, they are content to continue in the same employment ; but it will
be difficult to train the new laborer to the newer cultivation. They ad
here too closely to traditional occupations, and I have heard of some most
signal failures, which have forced persons to abandon their establish
ments, after a considerable outlay of money in land and implements.
Under these circumstances, we may well ask our countrymen whether
Mexico might not be looked to as a market for a portion of our crops, and
if the Government should not be required to turn its attention to this vast
interest, for the purpose of attempting to obtain a removal of the inhibi
tions on that valuable article of commerce. If England were a cotton
growing country, or had an adjacent colony producing it, I am confident
that the opportunity would be promptly and advantageously improved.
Under any circumstances it is worth the trial ; and, especially, at this
moment, when Great Britain is interfering in the quarrel between Mexico
and Texas, and seeking either to produce a peace or to form an alliance
with the revolted province, which will either extinguish slavery and cotton
planting, or make Mexico the buyer of her offspring's productions, to the
detriment of our Union.
The cotton crop of Mexico has been very variable in value. At Tepic,
on the west coast, it has been as low as $15 the quintal ; at Vera Cruz,
on the east coast, $22 and $34 ; while at Puebla and in the Capital, it has
risen to $40, and even $48.
In spite of all the efforts of English capitalists and diplomacy, the Gov
ernment has steadily persevered in fostering the manufactures of the Re
public, except by the occasional allowances of the importation of twist.
The administration of Santa Anna, however, has been energetic I am
informed, both in its opposition to the introduction of this article, and in
its effects to suppress the smuggling of English and American fabrics.
The manufacturers, therefore, regard their establishments as perfectly
safe, and their future success as certain.

MANUFACTURES. gl5
The average price of manias, (cotton cloth) of one vara width, in 1842
was about twenty-five cents the vara ; and of twist, No. 12 to 22, about
seventy-five cents the pound. It was estimated, that if cotton fell in con
sequence of importations being allowed, or a larger crop, to $25 the quintal,
these articles would be reduced 'to 18g cents the vara for the first, and to
50 cents the pound for the second. This condition of the market would
prevent all importations from abroad, even aided by smuggling.
An intelligent merchant of the city of Mexico, who has resided long in
the country, and has an extensive acquaintance in the Republic, informs
me, that there are about five thousand hand-looms throughout the Depart
ments, which will work up all the spun yarn into mantas and rebosos as
fast as it can be made. Many of these looms are entirely employed in
the manufacture of the common rebosos — described in some of my pre
ceding letters — the consumption of which is so great among the poorer
classes. The value of these looms is estimated at between six and seven
hundred thousand dollars. The number of persons employed, in every
way, in manufactures, cannot be much short of thirty thousand.
The power made use of for the movement of the factories is water ;
which is abundant, for that purpose, all over the country, proceeding from
small streams falling from the mountains into the neighboring plains or
barrancas. Owing to the scarcity of wood, and the costliness of its
transportation, steam cannot be advantageously applied.
There are several manufactories of cotton balls, or thread, in Mexico,
but they are not of very great importance.
Paper factories are working with considerable success. There are
two near the Capital, one at Puebla, and one in Guadalaxara. Their
productions are very good, but by no means adequate to the consumption
of the country. The quantity of this article used for cigarritos, or paper
cigars, is inconceivable. The best coarse wrapping or envelope paper, I
have ever seen, is made in Mexico from the leaves of the Agave Ameri
cana, the plant which yields " pulque." It has almost the toughness and
tenacity of iron.
Both at Puebla and Mexico there are several glass factories, making
large quantities of the material for windows, and common tumblers.
Their produce is, nevertheless, insufficient for the wants of the country.
Woollen blankets, and some very coarse woollen cloths or baizes, are
also manufactured in the Republic. The blankets, or serapes, I have
heretofore described when speaking of the equipment of a Mexican horse
man. They are often of beautiful texture, and woven, with the gayest
colors and patterns, into a garment that frequently costs a fashionable
cavalier from two to five hundred dollars. As this is as indispensable an
article for the comfort of a lepero as of a gentleman, and as necessary
for a man as a reboso is for a woman, you may readily imagine how great
is the consumption.

316 MEXICO.
Such is a sketch of this branch of industry, to which the Government
and people seem to have devoted themselves with a hearty will. I have
dwelt at considerable length upon it, as evincing an energy and temper
not usually attributed to Mexicans, and for the purpose of exhibiting a
phase of character at once creditable to their resolution, and manifesting
a degree of independence and thriftiness worthy of imitation.

LETTER XXXI.
THE REVENUE AND RESOURCES OF MEXICO. ARMY. NAVY. PRODUCE OP
MINES. TOTAL COINAGE. THE CHURCH, ITS WEALTH AND INFLUENCE.
The income of the Mexican Government is derived from revenues
on foreign commerce, imposts on internal trade, imposts on pulquS, ex
port duty on the precious metals, lotteries, post-office, stamped paper,
taxes, tobacco, powder, salt-works, and several other sources of trifling
importance. In 1840, these revenues are stated in the Report of the Minister of the
Treasury as follows :

Nett proceeds after deducting expense of collection.
Imposts on Foreign Commerce,  $7,115,849
" Interior " - .... 4,306,585
" On property, income, &c. ..... 466,061
Exchanges, &e. .  307,427
Creditos ActiveX, .... . . 3,309
Balances of accounts, ....... 355
Enteros de productos liquidos, ..... 452,146
Extraordinary subsidy, ........ 103
Arbitrio estraordinario, - ...... 78,177
Capitacion, - - ...... 483
Donations, - ....... 13,662
$12,744,157

In 1839, the revenues amounted to $11,215,848. The income from
the post-office department, (which is not included in the statement for 1840,)
was $178,738, in 1839. In 1840, the lotteries produced the gross sum
of $215,437 — but as the expenses connected with their management,
amounted to $158,485, it left a balance of but $56,952, for the Govern
ment. The " sealed paper," or stamp tax, produced $110,863, but as this
impost has been nearly doubled during 1842, the revenue must at present
be proportionally greater.

318

MEXICO.

I have been unable to obtain any of the official documents of 1841 and
1842, (in consequence of the disturbed condition of the country,) with the
exception of the Custom House returns, for the former year.

Oustom-Houses.

Tunnage Duty.

Nett proceeds after deducting
costs of collection.

' Vera Cruz,

$31,032

$3,374,528

East Coast. <

Tampico,

7,363

1,019,046

Matamoras,

3,525

279,627

' Mazatlan,
6,245
397,213
Guyamas,
2,092
46,189
West Coast. <
Monterey,
810
85,982
Acapulco,
573
7,193
San Bias,
2,719
190,270
$55,259
$5,399,948
It will be perceived that the Custom Houses of Tabasco, Campeche',
Sisal, Isla de Carmen, and Bacalar, are not included in the preceding
statement, in consequence of the separation of the first (during the pe
riod,) from her allegiance to the Republic, and on account of the rebel
lious condition of the rest. At the date of the statement, reports from
Goatzacoalco, Alvarado, Tuxpan, Huatulco, Manzanillo, La Paz, Pueblo
Viejo, Altata, Loreto, San Diego, San Francisco, Soto la Marina, and
from the frontier posts of Paso del Norte, Comitan, Tonala, Santa Fe de
N. Mexico, y Presidio del Norte, had not been yet received at the Treas
ury Office in the Capital. The costs of the collection of this revenue
amounted to $52,886, and the salaries of officers to $295,404.
I regret that I was unable to obtain any very accurate date of the Santa
Fe Trade, which, under judicious management, might no doubt be very
advantageously conducted for the interest of both countries. In the pres
ent distracted state, however, of Texas and the Northern Provinces of
Mexico, little is to be hoped, until better feelings and better regulations are
firmly established. Santa Fe, and Chihuahua divide the trade ; the lat
ter, since the year 1831. The subjoined rough estimate has been given
me of the value of our trade at both places since that period :
Years.
Total at cost.
Taken to Chihuahua.
Men.
Wages.
1831
$250,000
$40,000
320
130
1832
150,000
45,000
150
80
1833
145,000
50,000
140
75
1834
160,000
60,000
160
80
1835
135,000
55,000
140
70
1836
122,000
55,000
120
60
1837
150,000
75,000
150
80
1838
90,000
50,000
100
50
1839
260,000
150,000
250
135
1840
50,000
10,000
60
30
1841
100,000
50,000
150
80
1842
200,000
60,000
200
120
SMUGGLING. 319
No one who has resided any length of time in Mexico, either connected
or unconnected with commerce, can fail to have heard of the extent to
which smuggling has been and still is carried on in the Republic. This
infamous system, alike destructive of private morals and public integrity,
has become a regular business in portions of the country, and, after hav
ing been, to a great extent, suppressed on the Eastern coast, has for several
years occupied the attention of numbers on the West. Mr. McClure*
calculated that the Republic possesses "a frontier of five thousand miles,
including the sinuosities, windings, and turnings of bays, gulfs and rivers
on the Pacific ; three thousand miles on the United States of America and
Texas; and above two thousand five hundred on the Gulf of Mexico;
making, in all, ton thousand five hundred miles of frontier to guard
against illicit trade, without an individual on the one thousand two hundredth
part of the space to give notice of any depredations that may happen."
Now, although the estimate of this philanthropist may appear rather
fanciful, when we remember, that wherever there are smugglers to intro
duce it is probable that there are individuals to receive, and consequently
.hat the Government might be protected ; still it is undeniable that the ter
ritory is vast, the population sparse, and the corruption of government
agents has been as shameful as it was notorious. Facts came to my
knowledge, while a resident in Mexico, which proved, beyond question,
this immoral tampering, and went far to implicate men of rank and capa
city in the country. I forbear to detail these occurrences here, but I have
the documents, in writing, under the attestation of an individual who was
approached by one of the vile instruments in the deed of shame, and I
feel perfectly satisfied of their uncxaggerated accuracy. I do not men
tion this circumstance, for the purpose of reflecting on the existing Gov
ernment ; but simply to direct the attention of such Mexicans as may read
these letters, to a frightful evil, the extirpation of which will at once in
crease the financial resources of the country and improve the morals of
their people. It may be urged, perhaps, that it is impossible to correct
this mal-administration ; and, I confess, there appears to be much force in
the remarks which I subjoin, from the author I have just quoted. At page
292, of his " Opinions," Mr. McClure observes :
"In the comparatively limited frontiers, and crowded population of the
European monarchies, with their hundreds of thousands of soldiers and
officers of the customs, it has been found impossible to prevent smuggling,
with all its attendant crimes and corruptions. What hopes, then, can a
small population scattered over so extensive a surface, have, that a reve.
nue will be collected, even if it were probable in the present state of
morals to find honest collectors ! It would be contrary to all former
experience and analogy, to expect anything else, in this country, than a
gradual diminution of the revenue, in the ratio of the organization of smug
gling. All additional guards or officers of the customs, would certainly
* Vide McClure'i " Opinions."

320 MEXICO.
increase the quantity of bribery and corruption, but would not add to the
revenue a sum equal to their pay I"
NATIONAL DEBT.

The national debt of Mexico is one of very considerable importance,
and may be divided into the two great classes of Foreign and Internal
debt. The Internal Debt amounts to $18,550,l000 ; and in 1841 the customs
were mortgaged to pay this sum, in the following subdivisions :

17 per cent.

of the Customs devoted to a debt of

$2,040,000

15

"

tt

tt

410,000

12 "

"

a

"

2,100,000

10 "

"

C(

tt

3,100,000

8

<(
((
((
1,200,000
10 "
et
tt
Tobacco fund debt,
9,700,000
16f "
tt
tt
Interest on English debt.
10 "
tt
tt
Garrison fund.
98§
$18,550,000
1£ balance clear
of lien,
for the Government !
100
The Foreign Debt is still larger than this ; and (including the above,)
I will state the entire national responsibility, as it existed at the end
of last year :
Internal debt,  $18,550,000
Debt to English creditors,  60,000,000
United States claims and interest, say .... 2,400,000
Copper to be redeemed, ...... 2,000,000
Claims for Hilazo,  700,000
Bustamante loan, ....... 500,000
$84,150,000
Until 1841, the whole of the revenue, except llj- per cent, was appro
priated to the payment of $18,550,000, while the remaining claims were
entirely unprotected by securities. Shortly after the accession of Santa
Anna to power, he suspended (by a decree of the 16th of February) the
payment of the first five funds charged upon the customs, as stated in a
preceding table, but reserved the active appropriation for the Tobacco and
English interest debts. This, as may be well imagined, created great dis
satisfaction among the mercantile classes, and among numbers of persons
who had invested their capital in Government loans, with a reliance upon
the revenues as a solemn pledge for their redemption. Santa Anna, how
ever, withstood the torrent manfully. He was assailed by legations,
newspapers, and individuals, but nothing could induce him to yield the
NATIONAL DEBT. 32i
pressing wants of the Government to their importunities. He was, in fact
forced to the measure. The national credit was irremediably impaired
and he found it impossible to obtain loans. The consequence was, the
seizure of the customs by the suspension of their prior appropriation until
he was enabled to relieve his Treasury.
Independently of the English and the American debt, the claims upon
the Mexican Government have usually been created by means of loans
of the most usurious character. In order to illustrate this system, and to
show the enormous rates at which lenders endeavored to assure themselves
against loss by depreciation, I will recount some transactions which were
partly effected in 1841.
On the 20th of September, fifteen days before the treaty of Estansuela,
the administration of President Bustamante offered the following terms for
a loan of $1,200,000. It proposed to receive the sum of $200,000 in cash,
and $1,000,000 represented in the paper or credits of the Government.
These credits or paper were worth, in the market, nine per cent. About
one-half of the loan was taken, and the parties obtained orders on the seve
ral maritime Custom Houses, receivable in payment of duties.
The revenues of the Custom House of Matamoras, have been always
hitherto appropriated to pay the army, on the northern frontier of the Re
public. During the administration of General Bustamante, the command
ant of Matamoras issued bonds or drafts against that Custom House for
1150,000, receivable for all kinds of duties as cash. He disposed of these
bonds to the merchants of that port for $100,000 — and, in addition to the
bonus of $50,000, allowed them interest on the $100,000, at the rate of
three per cent, per month, until they had duties to pay which they could
extinguish by the drafts.
Another transaction, of a singular nature, developes the character of the
Government's negotiations, and can only be accounted for by the receipt of
some advantages which the act itself does not disclose to the public.
The mint at Guanajuato, or the right to coin at that place, was con
tracted for, in 1842, by a most respectable foreign house in Mexico, for
$71,000 cash, for the term of fourteen years, at the same time that another
offer was before the Government, stipulating for the payment of $400,000
for the same period, payable in annual instalments of $25,000 each. The
$71,000 in hand, were, however, deemed of more value than the pros
pective four hundred thousand ! This mint leaves a nett annual income
of $60,000 !
With such a spendthrift abandonment of the resources of the country,
continued, for a series of years, in the midst of the pressure of foreign
claims and domestic warfare, it is, indeed, wonderful that Mexico has so
long survived the ruin which must inevitably overtake her with a debt of
$84,000,000, and an annual expenditure (as will be seen from the suc-
21

322 MEXICO.
ceeding statement,) of $13,000,000, independent of payment of interest,
balances, and loans. Yet with all these incumbrances, created under the
most usurious exactions, it is greatly to her honor that she has not repu
diated the claims of her creditors ; — a moral and political firmness in which
she may well be emulated by some of those very States that have been
loudest in their thoughtless abuse of a sister Republic.
A late Mexican paper states, that the Minister of the Treasury of Mex
ico has published a decree, by which the President directs twenty-five
per cent, of all the receipts of the Custom Houses of the Republic to be
set apart as a " sinking fund," to pay the public debt. This fund is to
be inviolable. The decree provides for the consolidation and funding of
the debt at the rate of a six per cent, stock, for which it will be ex
changed by such as choose. Those who do not embrace this arrange
ment with the Government are to have their claims liquidated, only, when
out of the sinking fund now created, those who accede to the exchange of
stock, shall have been first of all paid !
If we exclude the American debt, now in the course of payment, (an
exclusion nevertheless improper, as the Government has but changed her
responsibility from a foreign creditor to a domestic one,) the debt of Mex
ico may still be fairly estimated at $82,000,000, which, at six per cent.,
bears an annual interest of $4,920,000. The actual income from cus
toms and all resources may be set down at $13,000,000 — 25 per cent, on
which will produce a fund of $3,250,000, or $1,670,000 less than ihe in
terest on ihe whole debt ! It may well be asked whence is to proceed the
" sinking fund," so long as such a deficiency exists ?
TABLE OF THE EXPENSES OF THE MEXICAN GOVERN
MENT IN 1840.

SUPREME POWERS. Dollars. TotaL
Poder Conservador,  - 30,000
Legislature, .... . 319,550
Executive, Ministers, Council, Secretary, Archives, &c. 230,930
Supreme Court, - .... 79,300

 $659,780
DIPLOMACY.
Legations, Consuls, Commissioners, &c. - .  140,000
TREASURY.
National Treasury, Almacanes generalis, Direccion
de Rentas, Heads of the Treasury, and Depart.
mental Treasuries,  251,758 6
Pensions to retired officers  174,942
Pensions of the Mont de Piete, .... 160,554

587,254 6
$1,387,034 6

CIVIL LIST.

323

Dollars. Total.
B't for'd, $1,387,034 6

JUDICIARY.
Salaries of Departmental Magistrates, Judges and Sub
alterns, ... . . .
POLITICAL.
Governors, Secretaries, Departmental Juntas, Prefects,
their Secretaries and sub-Prefects,
ECCLESIASTICAL.
Bishoprics of Sonora and Yucatan,
Missions,  .
INSTRUCTION, BENEVOLENCE, AND PUNISHMENT.
Academy of San Carlos, - -
Museum, . ... .
Conservatory of Chapultepec, and Professor of Botany,
Colleges of St. Juan Lateran, Ildefonso, Esperito San
to at Puebla, - ....
Professors in University at Mexico,
School of Surgery, ...
Professors of Medical School or College, -
Director of Institution of Medical Sciences, &c. &c.
Hospitals, Prisons, Fortresses, ....

15,200
31,930

13,000 5,600
2,200
20,000 7,613 1,500
10,800 2,160
180,000

SALARIES OF VARIOUS OFFICERS OF PALACE.
Concierge, .... .
Architect,
Chaplain, ..... .
Two Porters, - - -
Gardener, - RENTS, PENSIONS, ETC.
Collegiate of N. S. of Guadalupe, ...
Civil Pensions, -

Sundries, Printing, &c. &c. ....
WAR OFFICE.
Salaries of officers — (active,) ...
" " " (on leave,) ...
" " " (retired,) . - - ¦
Military Mont de Piete, - -
Army, privates, and all other military expenses,
DIVIDENDS ON FOREIGN DEBT,

Exclusive of the payment of loans and balances.
Mexico, 28th July, 1841.

420 ,
200 COO
1,2001,000

26,391 4 9
70,178

357,397 3 6
28,759 7 0
718,399 2 0
291,079 3 9
6,604,379 7 9

1,207,376

847,467

47,130

260,409

3,420

96,596 4 9
87,596 5 3

8,000,000
1,155,922 2 5
$13,155,922 2 5

The deficiencies to which I have alluded, on the page preceding the
last tabular statement, must be still more apparent and lamentable after
21*

324 MEXICO.
an examination of a document which exhibits an expenditure of $8,000,000
(in a time of peace with all the rest of the world,) for a War Department,
the active officers of which receive $357,397 a year, while the retired are
paid more than double that amount ; at the same time that the whole Civil
Administration of the country costs but about four millions ! This state
ment would appear to indicate a degree of necessary coercion and cor
ruption, which are but slender promises of the growth of peace, glory,
and prosperity. The feeble support given to public instruction by direct
contributions of the Government I have already alluded to, and the reader
may, at a glance, see how much is expended for punishment, and how
little for instruction and benevolence. The army is constantly the fond
ling of the rulers of the day. By it they are elevated to power ; by it
they are sustained or defeated, and, relying on its bayonets rather than
the hearts and intellects of the great masses of their countrymen, they
are obliged to pay both well and promptly the masters they pretend to
rule. The cost of this branch of the service must have greatly increased in
1842 and 1843, in consequence of the meditated attack upon Texas and
the actual conflict with Yucatan. I regret that I have no data upon these
subjects ; but it may fairly be calculated, that if the expenses were
$8,000,000 in 1840, in a period of comparative tranquillity, (with the ex
ception of a short revolution in the Capital,) they must have been swelled
in 1842 and the present year, by the purchase of steamers and munitions
of war, to near 10 or $12,000,000.
ARMY AND NAVY.
In regard to the numbers of the Army, I am equally without informa
tion since 1840 ; but I may state that the forces have been considerably
augmented, and in all probability amount to 40,000 men. In 1840, the
Mexican army was composed of
14 Generals of Division, -  $500 per month.
26 " of Brigade,  375 " «
ARTILLERY.
3 Brigades, (on foot,)
1 " (mounted,)
5 Separate Companies. ENGINEER CORPS.
1 Director General,
3 Colonels,  235 " "
6 Lieutenant Colonels, ... ... 141 » "
1 Adjutant, ......... jq4 " "
14 Captains, --...-....84 km
16 Lieutenants, ........ 62 " "
10 Sub-lieutenants, ........ 39 " "
SAPPERS.
1 Battalion.

NAVAL AND MILITARY FORCE

325

PLANA MAYER DEL EJERCITO.
This was composed of the General-in-Chief and a number of
Colonels, Lieutenant-Colonels, Captains, &c. &c.
PERMANENT INFANTRY.
8 Regiments of 2 battalions each, each battalion of 8 companies,
each company of 1 12 men, officers included— or in all 14,336
persons : each soldier is paid, - . . - $11 93| per month.
ACTIVE INFANTRY.
9 Regiments. This body differs from the preceding, or Perma.
nent Infantry, in being liable to service only when required
by Government ; or, in other words, it is a sort of national
militia, well drilled — Total number, 16,128.
PERMANENT CAVALRY.
8 Regiments, each regiment composed of 2 squadrons, each
squadron of 2 companies. Each regiment composed, in all,
of 676 men, — or the 8 of 4,056, at - - 12 50 " "
35 Separate Companies in various places throughout the Republic.
ACTIVE CAVALRY.
6 Regiments of 4 squadrons, each squadron of 2 companies.
NAVY.
The Navy of Mexico consists at present of 3 Steam Frigates, 2 Brigs, 3 Schooners,
2 Gunboats.*

MINES AND COINAGE.
In treating of the resources of men and money of Mexico, it will not
be uninteresting (after knowing that the production of the mines amounts
in value annually to about twenty- two millions, of which twelve find
their way to the mints,) to present a statement of the total coinage of the
country, derived from the records of the earliest periods to which access
could be had.

*The regular force of the United States, as now autfiorized by law, consists of 717 commissioned officers,
17 storekeepers, (of whom 15 are attached to the Ordnance and 2 to the Purchasing department,) 250 en
listed men for the ordnance service, and 7,590 non-commissioned officers, musicians, artificers, and privates, 20
chaplains and schoolmasters, and as many ordnance sergeants us there are military posts. Clerks, forage-mas-
tere, and wagon-masters, are also employed in the Quartermaster's department from time to time, according to
the exigencies of the service. The act of August 23, 1842, reduced the rank and file of the army 3,920 men. The
reduction is gradually proceeding in the manner contemplated by the act, and the excess, according to the last
returns, is 1,970 men. It is supposed the prescribed minimum will be reached by the beginning of the year 1844.
The whole number of troops now in service is 9,847, consisting of 781 commissioned officers, 9,600 non-commis
sioned officers, musicians, artificers, and privates, and 247 enlisted men of ordnance.
It is confidently believed that the present military establishment, including all the expenses of the military
academy of a permanent or contingent character, may be estimated at $3,100,000, exclusive of the ordnance, ord
nance stores, small arms, and equipments, which are distributed among the States, or accumulated for future
use.

326 MEXICO.
TABLE OF THE COINAGE OF MEXICO FROM THE EARLIEST PERIODS
TO THE PRESENT DAY.
The Mint of the City of Mexico was established in
1535, but there are no returns for the first 155
years, until 1690. If we take the average of
the coinage of these years to have been $1,-
000,000, we shall have  $155,000,000
From 1690 to 1803, inclusive, .... 1,353,452,020
" 1803 to 1821, inclusive,  261,354,022
" 1822  5,543,254
" 1823 "-  3,567,821
" 1824  3,503,880
" 1825  6,036,878
" 1825 to 1831 (on an average three millions per
annum,)  15,000,000
" 1831  13,000,000
•• 1832  12,500,000
" 1833  12,500,000
" 1834 -  12,040,000
" 1835  12,000,000
" 1836  12,050,000
" 1837  11,610,000
" 1838 to 1843 (averaging twelve millions,) . 60,000,000
To this must be added the coinage of State mints not
included in the above :
Guanajuato, from 1812 to 1826 .... 3,024,194
Zacatecas " 1810 to 1826 .... 32,108,185
Guadalaxara, " 1812 to 1826 .... 5,659,159
Durango, " 1811 to 1826 .... 7,483,626
Chihuahua, " 1811 to 1814 .... 3,603,660
Sombrerete, " 1810 to 1811 .... 1,561,249
All of these for the five years (after 1826) since which
they have been calculated in the general coinage, 60,000,000
Total  $2,068,597,948
This amount, you will see, is less than it has been made by several
other writers.

THE CHURCH OF MEXICO— ITS WEALTH AND
INFLUENCE.
The Ch jRch of Mexico is the next and last topic to which I shall direct
your attention, and I am compelled again to regret the want of an accu
rate account of the convents, properties, members, and wealth of the Reli-
gious Orders in 1842. I diligently sought information from individuals
who should have been au fait on these subjects, yet I could gain from

NATIONAL CHURCH.

327

them but little knowledge of an authentic character. I am satisfied, that
this arose neither from a narrow distrust of foreigners, nor a Chinese dis
like of divulging the secrets of their country. The want of a general
work of reference on statistics is denounced, as " shameful and lamenta
ble," by Seiior Otero in his treatise on the social and political condition of
Mexico. " In 1842," says this writer, " we possess no publication upon Mexican
statistics except the work of Baron Humboldt, written in 1804. That
work, precious as it is, has become useless as a guide, in consequence of
the immense changes during the intervention of a long and revolutionary
period. A complete statistical treatise might be easily compiled without
expense to the National Treasury, by merely obliging the functionaries
of the Government to make regular and minute returns, which should be
digested and edited by competent persons in the Capital. Without such
a work it will be impossible to understand the complicated interests of this
vast country, or to keep the machinery of its Government in successful
operation."* It is, indeed, difficult to imagine how the administrations carried on the
affairs of the nation as long as they have done, without a system of
statistical book-keeping, which is as necessary for them as a ledger is for
the prudent merchant.
The Ministers of State have occasionally presented reports to the Na
tional Congresses upon the condition of their several Departments ; but
these productions have been brief, unsatisfactory, without detail, and rather
involving the matters of which they treat in doubt and uncertainty, by
their vague generalization, than clearly illustrating the interests, wants,
and resources of the Republic.
Of all branches of the national administration, none has suffered more
obscuration by this diplomatic rhetoric than the question of the Church,
which properly belonged to the portfolio of the Minister of Public Justice
and Instruction. It was a subject that men seemed fearful to approach.
They admitted that there were abuses in the body ; — that many of its
members were corrupt, idle, ignorant, and vicious ; — and that it enjoyed
large revenues, flowing in a narrow stream, which, if suffered to diverge
into smaller rivulets, would nourish the parched land and improve the
condition of suffering multitudes. But wealth and property were banned
and sanctified. The establishment was the religion; and he who ven
tured to assail the one must necessarily attack the other. Thus, even
patriots who were not ordinarily affected by nervous dread, stood appalled
at the first frown of priestly indignation, and trembled for their fate in a
conflict between the temporal power and that tremendous spiritual influ
ence which slept like an electric fire in the hearts of the people, ready,
on the slightest impulse, to be kindled into a destructive flame.
It would be unjust, however, to leave you under the impression that
the ministers of this church have been solely engaged in enriching them-
* Vide Otero. Cuestion Social y Politico, p. 30-31.

328 MEXICO.
selves, and scandalizing the cause of true faith, as has been so often pro.
claimed by European travellers. Although many of them are unworthy
persons, and notwithstanding their rites and ceremonies are often rather
accommodated to a population scarcely emerged from the forests, than to
intellectual man ; — yet the wealth of the church has not been at all times
devoted to base and sordid purposes, or used to corrupt its possessors and
the people. Throughout the Republic no persons have been more univer
sally the agents of charity and ministers of mercy, than the rural clergy.
The village curas are the advisers, the friends and protectors, of their
flocks. Their houses have been the hospitable retreats of every travel
ler. Upon all occasions they constituted themselves the defenders of the
Indians, and contributed toward the maintenance of institutions of benevo
lence. They have -interposed in all attempts at persecution, and, wher-
ever the people were menaced with injustice, stood forth the champions of
their outraged rights. To this class, however, the wealth of the church
was of small import.
These virtues and devotion have served to fix the whole priesthood
deeply in the hearts of the masses, and to attach the poor to their persons
and enlist them in defence of their property. The priest, the creed, the
church and its revenues, seemed to be one and indivisible in the notions of
the people ; and, in turn, the priesthood became jealous and watchful of
the power which this very affection had created. Avarice was not want
ing to increase their gains from dying penitents, pious bequests, holy offer
ings and lavish endowments. And thus (often grossly human while
humbly good,) they have contrived, upon the same altar, to serve God
and Mammon.
It is now quite natural, that they should desire to preserve the properly
which has been collected during so many years of religious toil and ava
ricious saving, and they dread the advance of that intellectual march
which, in the course of time, will consign their monastic establishments
to the fate of those of England and Spain. The combination of large
estates, both real and personal, in the hands of a united class acting by
spiritual influence, under the direction of one head, must be powerful in
any country, but certainly is most to be dreaded in a Republic, where
secret ecclesiastical influence is added to the natural control of extra
ordinary wealth.
It is difficult to say with accuracy, for the reasons I have- already
assigned, what this wealth at present is, — but I think the number of Con
vents, devoted to about two thousand Nuns in the Republic, is fifty-eight ;
for the support of which, (in addition to a floating capital of rather more
than four millions and a half, with an income therefrom of two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars,) they possess some seventeen hundred estates
or properties, producing an annual revenue of about five hundred and
sixty thousand dollars.
There are about three thousand five hundred Secular Cleegybien and
seventeen hundred Monks.

NATIONAL CHURCH. 329
The latter possess one hundred and fifty Conventual establishments
divided as follows :
The Dominicans, -...- . 05
Franciscans, --.... ca
Augustines, ---.-... 90
Carmelites, ---..... ic
Mercedarios, -•---.-.. .19 150
Nuns  2,000
Monks,  li700
Secular Clergy  3)500
7,200
A number certainly inadequate to the spiritual wants of a population
of seven millions, and yet too small to be proprietors of estates worth at
least ninety millions of dollars, according to the annexed valuation :
Real property in town and country, ..... $18,000,000
Churches, houses, convents, curates, dwellings, furniture, jewels, pre
cious vessels, &c. - - - . 52,000,000
Floating capital — together with other funds — and the capital required
to produce the sum received by them annually in alms, - - 20,000,000

$90,000,000

The real property is estimated to have been worth at least 25 per cent.
more, previous to the Revolution, and, to this enhanced value must be
added about $115,000,000 of capital, founded on " contribuciones " and
"derechos reales," or imposts to which they were entitled, on the property
of the country.*
The value of their churches, the extent of their city property, the
power they possess as lenders, and the quantity of jewels, precious ves
sels, and golden ornaments, will raise the above statement, I am confident,
to nearer $100,000,000 than ninety, or to a sum about eighty-eight millions
less than it was before the outbreak of the war of Independence ; at which
period, the number of ecclesiastics is estimated to have been 10,000 or
13,000, including the lay-brotherhood and the subordinates of the church.
During the royal Government, the influence of these rich proprietors
must necessarily have been exceedingly great. It was the policy of the
Spanish cabinet to cherish the temporalities of the Mexican Church. The
mayorazgos or rights of primogeniture, forced the younger sons either into
the profession of arms or of religion ; and it was requisite that ample pro
vision should be made for them in secure and splendid establishments.
Thus, all the lucrative and easy benefices came into the hands of Span-
* Vide Otero, p. 38, 39, 43.

330 MEXICO.
iards or their descendants, and by far the greater portion of the more
elevated ecclesiastics were persons of high birth or influential connections.
But the rights of primogeniture have been abolished. The laws of the
Republic have taken away the power to collect tithes by compulsory pro
cesses. And the consequence is, that the church has become unpopular
with the upper classes as a means of maintenance, while a comparatively
democratic spirit has been infused into its members, who now spring from
the humbler ranks. Still, however, the remaining wealth and the forces
of clanship have preserved in their body a most powerful influence.
While this change has occurred in the church, the army has become
equally unpopular with the upper ranks as a profession, and as its com
mand is consequently intrusted to men who have arisen immediately
from the people, or, in other words, as the same classes of society fur
nish both the church and the army, the church and the army will, in
all probability, (while forming aristocracies in themselves,) sustain each
other against the aristocracy of landed proprietors, and all who live upon
their income without the necessity of labor.
Between these two classes there will be a constant war of opinion, while
the only real democracy of the nation is left to reside in .individuals,
who have neither estates to despoil nor wealth to confiscate. The fellow
feeling between the church and the army, arising from the kindred ori
gin of their numbers, is, however, no protection to the riches of the former.
The Government, pressed by its wants, is beginning to encroach gradually
on its resources, and, within the last two years, has appropriated parts of
the real estates of the clergy to replenish an empty treasury. That such
is an honest and patriotic devotion of ecclesiastical means, no one can
deny, and the doctrine is sustained by legal writers of the highest author
ity.* The church has no need of possessions, except for purposes of
beneficence and charity. The vow of its members is for chastity and
poverty. It receives, only to become an almoner for more extensive
benevolence. And as the State, in the hour of need, must ever be the
chief pauper, she has an unquestioned right to call upon the ministers
of God, in the spirit of the religion they teach, to open their coffers freely
* Vide Vattel, Book 1, Chapter 12, § 158.
" The State," says this high legal authority, " has unquestionably the power to exempt the property of the
church from all imposts, when thtf oroperty is not more than adequate to the support of the ecclesiastics. But
the priesthood has no right to this lavor except by the authority of the State, which has always tlie right to revoke
it when the public good lequires. One of the fundamental and essential laws of society is, that on all occasions
of need the goods of all ite members ought to contribute proportionably to the wants of the community. Even
the prince himself cannot, by his authority, grant an entire exemption to a numerous and wealthy body of per
sons, without committing an extreme injustice to the rest of his subjects, upon whom the burden would alto
gether fall by this exemption."
Far from the goods of the church being exempted because they are consecrated to God,— it is for that very
reason that they should be the first taken for the welfare of the State. There is nothing more agreeable to the
Common Father of men, than to preserve a nation from destruction. As God has no need of property, the con
secration of goods to Him, iB their devotion to such usages as are pleasant to him. Besides, the property of tlie
church, by the confession of the clergy themselves, is chiefly destined for the poor. Now, when the State is in
want, it is, doubtless, the first pauper and the worthiest of succor. We may extend this reasoning to the most
ordinary cases, and say, that to impose a part of the current expenses on tlie church property in order to relieve
the people to that extent, is really to give those goods to tlie poor, according to the spirit of their original
destination.

NATIONAL CHURCH. 331
for the public good. With its ninety or one hundred millions of property
and money, it might extinguish the national debt of eighty-four millions,
and still leave an ample support for its seven thousand members, or, at
least, for its Secular Clergy, who would be cherished and sustained more
liberally by the masses for an act of such Christian sacrifice and benev
olence.

LETTER XXXII.

POLITICAL HISTORY.

Darkness hangs upon both extremes of Mexican History. The an
cient story of that beautiful country is lost in the gloom of tradition ; — the
detail of her colonial history is buried in Spanish archives ; — her revolu
tionary history is blotted with blood ; — her present is uncertain, and her
future is impenetrable even to the eye of hope.
I will take the liberty to recall to you, however, some of the prominent
events that have recently occurred, and the character and purposes of
those to whom the nation owes its origin.
Cortez was the personification of a period in the development of this
Continent. Warrior, orator, statesman, poet, historian ; — he blended in
himself every requisite for a daring adventurer, and his success may
well be esteemed the result of a single resolute mind over a whole Em
pire of mere physical force. He had the power to conceive and fashion
his projects ; to lead and control men ; to fight ; to diplomatize with cun
ning foes ; to speak with fluency and eloquence to multitudes ; to sing in
sweet yerse the lay of knight or lover, and, with becoming modesty and
grace, to tell the tale of his own achievements in phrase befitting the
ear of an enlightened monarch.* In fact, he was, in every quality, the
proper person to lead so bold a band of Spaniards as that which gathered
around his standard, when he unfurled it for the conquest of Mexico.
While the love of glory, and the enthusiasm of a bigot in religion, united
with the most eminent loyalty to form the chief characteristics of Cortez,
the purposes and temper of those who joined his enterprise are much more
questionable. Spain required a vent for her population, and the new-found world
afforded it. People of staid habits and regular morals were not tempted
to the perils of an adventurous life ; but there were thousands who had
neither means nor objects sufficient to retain them on their native soil.
Men of mark, but broken fortunes ; rakes of old distinction, such as de
cay in the corrupting atmosphere of courts ; noisy and riotous young men ;
soldiers, half bandit, half warrior ; and all the offal of a society dissi-
* Sae the recent translation of his Dispatches to tie Emperor, translated by Mr. Folsom, of New-York.

POLITICAL HISTORY. 333
pated, hopeless and impoverished, and living without those sanctions and
restraints that alone make life valuable or useful. Such were the reck
less crews that first set forward in the conquest of this hemisphere, without
the common sympathies of humanity ; regardless of the laws of nature or
nations, and, indeed, heedless of everything but the acquisition of treasure
or territory, by a warfare that degenerated into the murder of people to
whom the name of the Spanish king, or the idea of the Christian's God, had
never been revealed, even in their wildest dreams.
Thus was the foundation of the new Empire laid, in the violent destruc
tion of an ancient religion and monarchy.
Families of character and distinction soon came over, and the new do.
main was rapidly filled with a population willing to take advantage of its
resources ; — but several things impeded the social and moral progress of
New Spain.
It was but a colony ; and a colony, too, devoted by the mother country to
none of those branches of industry that foster the independent and manly
growth of a people, and bring out the mind of a nation. It was the mine
and mint of Spain.
It was taught to believe, that silver was a sort of vegetable product of
the earth, growing like flowers, and to be had for the asking. And thus
at the outset of its career, the germ of industrious self-reliance and inde
pendence, was withdrawn from the fostering policy of the parent State.
Commerce, manufactures, and an extensive agriculture, — looking to all
parts of the world as its consumers, — were discouraged, and the infant
colony was forced to receive from Spain the results of her industry, while,
in turn, it sent nothing back that indicated genius, talent, activity, enter.
prise, invention ; — or, indeed, anything but that its valleys and hills con
tained exhaustless quantities of precious metals, which it could drag from
their recesses and transmute into coin by the labor of enslaved and
ignorant Indians.
Nor was New Spain opened to the colonization of other nations, who
might have been invited to a healthful and energizing mixture of races.
On the contrary, the Spaniards grafted themselves upon the conquered
and debased aborigines, and the mongrel blood became dull and indolent.
Although the laws of the Indies were calculated to protect the natives,
they, nevertheless, suffered dreadfully under the proscriptive adminis
tration of colonial power ; and, becoming the victims of avarice, were
gradually degraded, step by step, to the helot condition in which we find
them at the present day.
" Instead of restraints on the claims of ecclesiastics, the inconsiderate
zeal of the Spanish legislators," says Dr. Robertson, "admitted them into
America to their full extent, and at once imposed on the Spanish colonies
a burden, which is in no slight degree oppressive to society, even in its
most improved state. As early as the year 1501, the payment of tithes
in the colonies was enjoined, and the mode of it regulated by law. Every

334 MEXICO.
article of primary necessity, toward which the attention of new settlers
must naturally be turned, was submitted to this grievous exaction. Nor
were the demands of the clergy confined to articles of simple and easy
culture. Its more artificial and operose productions, such as sugar, indigo
and cochineal, were declared to be tiiheable ; and thus the industry of the
planter was taxed in every stage of its progress, from its rudest essay to
its highest improvement. To the weight of this legal imposition, the
zeal of the American Spaniards made many voluntary additions ; — they
bestowed profuse donations on churches and monasteries, and thus, unpro-
fitably wasted a large proportion of that wealth, which might have nour
ished and given vigor to productive labor in a growing colony."
The Spaniard found a beautiful world, — a land bathed by two oceans,
rising from one and sloping to the other, — and on both acclivities pos
sessing all the climates of the world, from the graceful shadow of the
palm on the sea-shore, to eternal ice on the mountains overhanging the
Valley of Mexico. All these climates on the same parallel of latitude,
produced cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, cochineal, wheat, barley, corn, wine,
and every variety of luscious fruit; while, over all, an eternal spring bent
its blue and cloudless skies. And, as if the surface of the earth were not
sufficient to pamper the most craving appetites of her creatures, nature
had veined the secret depths of the mountains with silver and precious
materials, in exhaustless quantities. Yet, this prolific richness served but
to hasten the destinies of the invaders, and to make them careless, depen
dent and idle.
The parallel has so frequently been attempted, that it would perhaps be
profitless to contrast the settlers of this alluring country with the equally
enthusiastic but hardy and toilsome bands who peopled our north. But,
it may not be unwise to remember the stability we have attained, on dreary
and inhospitable coasts, by the steady march of faith, liberty, and the purity
of enterprise ; while our southern neighbors, more favored by soil and
seasons, have failed in producing the results of social and political peace,
under the influence of a different creed, and the corruptions of a monarch
ical Government.
We have now, however, to deal with a new people. Mexico has thrown
off the dominion of old Spain, and there is no marvel greater, in history,
than that an Empire, with enervated character, — oppressed, ignorant, and
almost destroyed as was this colony, — should still have had the spirit to
discover and assert her rights. She cast aside the allurements of rank ;
she converted her whole territory into a battle-field ; she tore herself from
all the fast- rooted allegiances and loyalties of three centuries ; she aban
doned fortune ; she went through fifteen years of civil slaughter, — and,
at length, alone, unaided, unsympathized with by the rest of the world,
she achieved her independence. For the victory over such obstacles,
Mexico deserves praise. She deserves more. She deserves the high and

POLITICAL HISTORY

335

unqualified respect of the world, and especially of that portion of it which,
par excellence, pretends to be the fostering parent of human rights and
liberty throughout the globe. It proves that she possesses a sense of right,
a virtue of endurance, a devotion to principle ; — and that, with domestic
peace, she would assume among the nations of the earth the high place
to which she is entitled, by the genius of her children and the magnificence
of her Empire.
Let me now invoke your attention to a brief historical outline of the
Mexican Revolution, and its consequences.
It was not until the mother country, herself, became temporarily sub
jected to a foreign Power, that the war of Independence was successfully
commenced in her possessions on this Continent. That war had its origin
as much in a desire of independence of France, as of Spain ; but it was
too late to quell entirely the growing love of liberty, after the restoration
of Ferdinand VII. in 1814.
When Spain, in the following year, made her chief effort against her
rebellious colonies, by the noted expedition from Cadiz under Morillo,
those colonies might still have been within her control if proper means had
been resorted to by the directors of her councils. And it is the opinion
of distinguished statesmen, that had she succeeded in " reducing the coast
of Terra Firma and New Grenada, the provinces of La Plata, divided
among themselves, and weakened by the Portuguese occupation of Monte
Video, would, in all probability, not have held out against her power."
But there were a thousand things to exasperate the war of Independence.
It was not only a war of freedom, but of caste; and it is almost impossible
to credit the atrocities with which it was prosecuted against the insurgents.
After the first successes of the Mexicans, there was a period of reaction
when the Spaniards again obtained a temporary mastery under Calleja,
and the annals of the time teem with accounts of the sanguinary ven
geance wreaked by that inhuman monster on the victims who fell within
his grasp. After he obtained possession of the revolted city of Guana
juato, he caused the inhabitants to be driven into the great Square of the
town, and near fourteen thousand men, women and children were butchered,
like cattle, on the spot. Proclaiming that " powder and ball were too costly
to be wasted in their execution," he let loose his soldiery on the defence
less crowd, with an order " to cut their throats," — and it is related, that the
fountains and gutters of the city, literally ran with human blood !*
These were things to be remembered and to exasperate. There was
no longer any hope for the people. There was no disposition to temporize
or conciliate. It was submission or death. And the " una salus victis
nullam sperare salutem," nerved their arms and forced them into ardent
and continued resistance.
They conquered. I will not go over the whole detail of the Revolution.
On the 24th of February, 1822, the Plan of Iguala was declared. Shortly
* Vide Robinson'* History of the Mexican Revolution.

336 MEXICO.
afterward, Iturbede" ascended the Imperial throne, to enjoy a short and
troubled reign; and it was, perhaps, hy the false direction given to
public sentiment and the ideas of the masses at this early moment of Inde
pendence, that we may attribute the subsequent disorders of the Republic.
It is true, that Mexico was not then prepared for perfect democracy ; but
as the nation required a patriotic direction, efforts should have been made,
under proper checks and balances, to win the mind? of the pfcople to a
love of those free institutions which the pure, and intellectual men of the
country have been ever desiring. Dissatisfied as the Mexicans were with
the administration and principles of Iturbede, they resorted to no acts of vio
lence against an individual who had so signally aided them in their recent
conflict. They provided an ample support for himself and family, after his
dethronement, and on the eleventh of May, 1823, he sailed for Leghorn.
It is at this period that, in fact, commences the portion of Mexican his.
tory with which it is our chief interest to deal. The war of Independence,
as we have seen, was a war of escape. It settled no principle, — estab
lished no system. And when the old order of things had entirely disap-
peared, the question rose as to what should be the government hereafter.
Independence had opened the rest of the world to the inspection of the
Mexicans. They beheld the progress of art, civilization, and freedom
among their immediate neighbors at the north, and they resolved to adopt
our system.
After the departure of the Emperor, the Government remained provis
ionally in the hands of Bravo, Victoria, and Negrete ; and a Rational
Representative body, after a session of fourteen months, formed a Con
stitution, (proclaimed on the 4th of October, 1824,) by which the sixteen
original States were united in a Federal Republic.
On the 1st of January, 1825, the first Congress under this Constitution
assembled in the City of Mexico, and General Victoria was installed as
President of the Republic. During the administration of this person, the
spirit of discontent already broke forth among the ambitious spirits of the
country, and there were several " Pronuncimientos," or declarations of
distinguished men, seconded by portions of the military, intended to ex
cite revolutionary movements against the existing Government.
The first of these gritos was headed by Robato and Colonel Staboli,
and designed, as they declared, to deprive every Spaniard throughout the
country, of public employment. The next, was by Padre Arenas, against
the Federative System, and in favor of Centralism ; — and another, (also
against federation,) called the " Plan of Montanyo," was made at Tulan-
cingo, but soon suppressed by Guerrero.
Upon the whole, however, the administration of Victoria passed off with
some degree of popularity, until near its close, when the two great parties
of the country became embodied and powerful in the associations known
as the Escossaises and Yorkinos, or, Scotch and York lodges.
The Escossais, or Scotch party, was decidedly in favor of the establish
ment of a political power with central strength, if not, indeed, of bringing

POLITICAL HISTORY. 337
the country back again to its ancient allegiance. Its rival party, or
Yorkino, meanwhile, was as positively opposed to all foreign interference,
central rule and monarchial tendencies, as it was devoted to Federation
and Republicanism.
The influence of State Rights and Federation were known to be hostile
to the centralization and efficacy of arbitrary powers ; and there is but
little doubt, that the aristocratic faction was favored in its operations by
those European powers and their emissaries, who sought to gain by intrigue
an influence on this Continent which they had lost in the recent wars.
It is alleged, by some, that this was perceived by the Minister who so ably
represented us at that period, with the new Republic ; and he is charged
with having procured the charter for the opposing lodge, and with foster
ing and stimulating the designs and leaders of the democratic party. It
is not necessary for me to treat of the propriety with which a foreign
Minister could interfere in the domestic strifes of the Government to which
he is accredited, nor do I believe that Mr. Poinsett ever stepped beyond
the limits of his official duties and rights in regard to these matters in
Mexico. Yet I cannot but think it was both his right as a man, and
his duty as a diplomatist, (faithfully representing a republican nation
near another Republic on the American Continent,) to do all in his power,
lawfully, to cherish and vivify the spirit of freedom in the country to
which he was accredited, and to overcome the efforts of European powers
for the establishment of a state of things directly hostile to American
principles and interests. It is unnecessary for me to pursue this subject
further, as the wisdom of such diplomacy must be evident to all who
know the difficulties and temptations with which a young, inexperienced,
and distracted Republic is surrounded at the outset of its political ex
istence. But the term of Victoria's administration was not to end without some
signal opposition to himself personally. In December, 1827, General
Bravo denounced the President as connected with the Yorkinos. He took
arms against the Government, proclaimed himself in open revolt, and
was speedily subdued and banished ; but the seed of discord had been al
ready deeply sown ; and in the election which subsequently occurred,
Gomez Pedraza, who was the candidate of the Escossais, obtained the Pres
idency by a majority of but two votes over Guerrero, his competitor.
Thus, amid the most angry excitement of embittered parties, terminated
the first chief magistracy of the new Republic.
It should be recollected, that during this administration Iturbede" had re
turned from his banishment, and was shot almost immediately after land
ing. It is the general impression, that this act was not desired by the
Government, and that the execution of the illustrious patriot was alone
owing to the indiscreet zeal of his captor.
Scarcely had Pedraza been elected, when symptoms of discontent were
manifested among the liberals. The Yorkinos had been foiled most un-
22

33S MEXICO.
expectedly, and by a mere nominal majority ; but they were not content
to bow with submission, like good republicans, to the will of the people
expressed according to the forms of a Federal Constitution. The conse
quence was, that before the new President had taken his seat, Santa Anna
made his appearance on the political stage, and, under the plea that the
election of Pedraza had been produced by fraud, "pronounced " against
him at the head of a small but determined force. The movement became
speedily popular. The prejudices of the Creoles, or natives, against the
Spaniards and their aristocratic partisans, were skillfully played upon,
and the imeute resulted on the 4th of December, 1828, in the " Pronun-
cimiento of the Accordada " in favor of the defeated candidate, Guer
rero. The City of Mexico was given up to a mob ; the Parian was
sacked ; the defenceless Spaniards suffered from the resentment of an
infuriate populace ; and Pedraza (abandoning the post of Minister of War
to his opponent, Santa Anna,) fled from the country, and took refuge in
the United States. On the first of January, 1829, Congress declared
Guerrero to have been duly elected President ; — Bustamante was named
Vice-President ; and the government went once more into quiet operation
under the old Constitution.
The ease with which the supreme authority could be destroyed or
established by a bold and daring chieftain, had been now most fatally
demonstrated for the future peace of the country ; and ambitious spirits
were not long wanting to take advantage of this dangerous facility.
Scarcely had Guerrero been seated in the presidential chair, and signal
ized his duplicity by desiring the recall of Mr. Poinsett, when Bustamante,
who came into power with him as Vice-President, organized the army at
Jalapa, and upon some trifling pretext, "pronounced" in that city. Santa
Anna at first feebly opposed this movement, but at length joined the dis
contented General. The revolution was made effectual ; — Guerrero was
overthrown, and fled ; — the Vice-President, Bustamante, assumed the reins
of government, and under his administration, the Spanish power was finally
subdued by the victory gained by Santa Anna over Barradas, on the 11th
of September, 1830, at Tampico. The unfortunate Guerrero was in the
meantime taken prisoner, and, in 1831, was executed for treason.
After this, tranquillity prevailed until 1832, when Santa Anna — who in
fact had been the author of the present dynasty — suddenly "pronounced"
against the Ministers, and soon afterward against the President himself,
at Vera Cruz. A battle was fought at Tolomi, and the insurgents de
feated ; — but he retired again to Vera Cruz, strengthened his power by
forces from some other Departments, declared himself in favor of Pedraza,
{whom he had driven out of the country two years previous,) entered into a
convention with Bustamante at Zavaleta, in December of 1832, and
— having dispatched a vessel for the exiled Pedraza — brought him back
to the Republic and sent him to the Capital, to serve out the remaining
three months of his unexpired term I

POLITICAL HISTORY.

339

The first act of the restored President was to eulogize his foe and friend,
and his last, (in the brief power allowed him,) to exercise his influence in
controlling an election to the chief magistracy, by which this skillful
Warwick was elevated to supreme power on the 16th of May, 1833.
Santa Anna was not, however, to be safe from the perils that had beset
his predecessors. He had given a fearful example of discontent to the
country, and — notwithstanding his known and dreaded vigor — in the first
year of his presidency, a "Pronuncimiento," (central in its character,)
was made by Escalada, at Morelia, in favor of the "fueros " of the church
and army. About this period he was proclaimed Dictator by the army
at Cuautla — an office he refused to accept — and, immediately marching
a sufficient force against the insurgents, he suppressed the revolutionary
movement at Guanajuato.
In 1835, there was another "Pronuncimiento " against the Government
in Zacatecas, which was quelled ; and, in a few days after the victory
over General Garcia, there was another declaration, known in the history
of the country as the " Plan of Toluca," which is generally believed to
have been favored by the President himself.
This Plan struck a fatal blow at the Federative System. It destroyed
the Constitution of 1824; — it vested the power in a Central Government;
abolished the Legislatures of the States, and changed those States into
Departments, under the control of military commandants and governors,
who were responsible to the chief authorities of the nation alone. This
was the last great act in Mexico of the military President, and its princi
ples formed the basis of the " Central Constitution," adopted in 1836,
in lieu of the Federal Constitution of 1824.
While these things were occurring, the revolt in Texas had become so
formidable, that it appeared necessary for the Mexican Government to
strike a decisive blow against the rebellious province. Accordingly, as
soon as Santa Anna had assured himself of the establishment of Central
ism, he departed with the flower of his troops to reconquer Texas. The'
fate of that memorable expedition is too well known to require notice in
this sketch. The regulator of his own country and the conqueror of the
Spaniards, lost both his liberty and his reputation in a conflict against
another race at the battle of San Jacinto ; and it is perhaps owing to the
private interposition of our own President, and the popularity, at that
period, of Houston, that his life was preserved from a population infuriate
with the memory of massacres that emulated the butcheries of Calleja.
But he was both spared and liberated, and returned, through the United
States, to his farm at Manga de Clavo, where, suffering under exceeding
unpopularity with his countrymen, he buried himself for a long period in
obscurity and retirement.
When Santa Anna departed from the Capital on fli-is luckless adven
ture, he left the administration in the hands of General Barrigan, as
President. This person, however, shortly died, and the government was
22*

340 MEXICO.
conducted subsequently by Coro, until Bustamante (whose friends had
taken advantage of Santa Anna's misfortunes and unpopularity, to elect
him to the Presidency under the new Constitution,) returned from France,
where he had resided since his defeat.
Almost immediately after the accession of this distinguished personage
to the chief magistracy, there were tmeutes in favor of Federation, and
Gomez Farias, who was then in prison ; but these, and a number of other
trifling conspiracies, were at once put down by Pedraza and Rodriguez.
The most brilliant, however, of all the exploits for the emancipation of
Mexico, occurred in 1838, under the unfortunate Mexia. He advanced
toward the Capital with a brave band of patriots, and was encountered in
the neighborhood of Puebla by Valencia and Santa Anna, who, creeping
forth from his retreat to regain popularity by some striking exploit, was
weakly trusted by the man he had already so often foiled. Mexia lost
the day, and with scarce time left for prayer or communication with his
family, was shot, by order of his conqueror, on the field of battle.*
In the winter of that year, the port of Vera Cruz was blockaded by
the French squadron, and the town attacked by the troops. This again
afforded an opportunity to the victim of San Jacinto to repair his tarnished
reputation by military glory, and to regain his standing with the army.
Accordingly he at once repaired to the port, took command of the troops,
and, while following the French, as they retreated to their boats, received
a wound, which has lamed him for life. But this loss was a gain to the
daring chieftain ; and well-worded proclamations, and a discreet use of
the amputated limb, (even to the present day, as we have seen in a prece
ding letter,) have served to restore him to the authority he so ingloriously
lost in 1836.f
Yet he did not think that the time for him to appear again prominently
on the political arena had then arrived, and he consequently remained
quiet during the " Pronuncimiento " of the Federalists at the Palace of Mex
ico, on the 15th of July, of 1840, under Urrea, which was completely
suppressed by Valencia, although President Bustamante, was at one time
a prisoner in the hands of the insurgents.
In August of 1841, however, a different state of things existed; and it
was then that the last (it is to be hoped) of the sanguinary revolutions
which have distracted Mexico, broke out. This insurrection was announced
by the "Pronuncimiento" of Paredes in Guadalaxara, and was quickly
* " You are right," said he to Santa Anna, when he was refused a respite ; " I would not have granted you
kalf tlie time, had I conquered!"
t Santa Anna causes the 5th of December to be celebrated in Mexico, as a day of Victory over the French !
They tell a story of him at Vera Cruz, which is illustrative of his cunning. One morning, early, during the
siege, a party ofFrench soldiere had made its way into the town and got possession of the house in which Santa
Anna was lodged. As soon as he was disturbed by the noise of the troops, he jumped out of bed, and in his
shirt and trowsers, attempted to escape. On the stairs he met the soldiers, headed by the Prince de Joinville,
who immediately demanded, " Where ia Santa Anna V 4' There," said he, pointing over his shoulder with
his thumb to a room in which another General was quietly sleeping. " And who are you I" said the Prince ;
" Oh ! nobody," said Santa Anna, ''nobody but a servant of the house." The Prince pushed on in a lurry
to secure the General, while the General as hurriedly pushed for the door !

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC. 341
enforced by Valencia and Lombardini in the Capital, and Santa Anna
himself, at Vera Cruz. Its causes were various and indefinite ;  but the
chief matters of popular discontent, viz., the consumption duty of 15 per
cent., and the Constitution of '36, were entirely beyond the control of the
existing administration. The "Pronuncimientos" of the Generals were suc
ceeded by a month's contest in the streets of Mexico ; a bombardment of
the Capital ; some harmless conflicts between the rival troops on the adja
cent plains, — and the drama was ended by the downfall of Bustamante, the
elevation of Santa Anna to the Provisional Presidency, and the " Plan of
Tacubaya," (as a substitute for the Constitution,) by the seventh article of
which, he was invested with dictatorial powers.
It was provided by this Plan, that a Congress should assemble in 1842,
to form a new Constitution for the government of the Republic ; and,
accordingly, in June of that year, a corps of patriotic citizens, chosen by
the people, met for that purpose in the Capital. This Congress was greeted
by the Provisional President, in a speech, strongly declaring his par
tiality for a firm and central Government, but intimating, nevertheless, his
entire disposition to acquiesce in the final decision of that intelligent body.
Yet, in December of last year, after two attempts to form a system that
would accommodate the wishes of the country and the administration, —
the Provisional President, (in spite of the frank disclosure of his intention
to submit to the popular will, ) dissolved the Congress without authority,
and convened a Junta of Notables for the purpose of proposing a new
Constitution. The result of the deliberations of that body were, the
"Bases of Political Organization of the Mexican Republic,"* pro
claimed on the 13th of June, 1843.
By the first Title of this Instrument, it is declared that Mexico adopts
the form of a Popular Representative system for its government ; that the
territory shall be divided into Departments ; that the political power essen
tially resides in the Nation, and that the Holy Roman Catholic and Apos
tolic creed is professed and protected to the exclusion of all others.
The second Title declares that slavery is not to be permitted ; — that
no one is to be molested for his opinions, or called on for contributions,
except such as are regularly imposed by law.
The third Title specifies who are Mexican citizens, their rights and
obligations. Citizens are — all who are born within the Mexican territory,
or beyond it, of a Mexican father; — all who were in Mexico in 1821,
and have not renounced their allegiance ; — all who were natives of Cen
tral America when it belonged to the Mexican nation, and since then have
continued to reside in Mexico ;— and, lastly, all who have obtained or shall
obtain letters of naturalization.
In order to enjoy fully the rights of Mexican citizenship, (in voting,) the
following qua.ifications are required. Being Mexicans, they must be
eighteen years :>f age and married, or twenty-one years, if not married ;
and they must enjoy an annual income of at least two hundred dollars,
* This is the title of the system, it is not called a Constitution.

342 MEXICO.
derived from actual capital, industry, or honest personal labor. In addition
to these requirements, no one will be allowed to vote, after the year 1850,
unless he is able to read and write.
The rights of citizenship are suspended (among other disqualifications,)
by domestic servitude, habitual intemperance, taking of religious vows,
keeping of prohibited gaming-houses, and fraudulent bankruptcy.

The Legislative power is defined by the fourth Title. This power is to
reside in a Congress, divided into a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate.
The Chamber of Deputies is to be composed of individuals elected by
the Electoral Colleges of the Departments, in a manner which will be
hereafter specified, and in the ratio of one for seventy thousand inhabitants.
The Departments which have not so many residents shall, nevertheless,
be entitled to a Deputy, and there shall likewise be one for every frac
tion over thirty-five thousand. It is required, that a Deputy shall be
thirty years of age, and possessed of an annual income of twelve hundred
dollars. A moiety of the Chamber is to be renewed every two years.
The Senate is to be composed of sixty-three members, two-thirds of
whom are to be elected by the Departmental Assemblies, and the other
third by the Chamber of Deputies, the President of the Republic, and the
Supreme Court of Justice. One-third of this body is to be renewed bien
nially. The Departmental Assemblies are to select five persons from
each of the classes of agriculturists, miners, proprietors or merchants, and
manufacturers ; the rest of the quota to be chosen by them from distin
guished individuals. Those who are to be appointed by the President and
the Supreme Court, are to be taken from among individuals who have
signalized themselves in the civil, military, and ecclesiastical career.
Senators must possess an annual income of two thousand dollars.
The Congress, so constituted, will sit twice a year for the space of three
months, commencing its terms on the 1st of January and 1st of July. Its
members are not allowed to obtain place or preferment from the Govern
ment, except for the most imperative reasons.
A third body, called the Permanent Deputation, is to be formed by this
Congress, and will be composed of four members of the Senate and five
of the Chamber, whose term of office shall continue until the next meet
ing of the National Assembly and the election of their successors. The
duty of this Permanent Deputation is to call extra sessions of Congress
whenever they may be decreed by the Government, and to receive the
certificates of the election of President of the Republic, Senators, and
Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice.
The fifth Title defines the Executive Power, which is confided for five
years to a President, who must be a Mexican by birth, in the full enjoy
ment of all his rights of citizenship, more than forty years of age, and a
resident of the Republic at the time of his election.

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC. 343
Among the numerous duties prescribed for him by the Bases, are the
following :
To impose fines not exceeding $500 on those who disobey his orders, and
are wanting in due respect and obedience to the laws.
To see that prompt justice is administered ; to visit the tribunals whenever
he is informed of delays, or that prejudicial disorders exist in those bodies ;
to require that a preference be given to causes concerning the public welfare,
and to exact information touching the same whenever it may be deemed
proper. To object ("hacer observaciones") within thirty days (after audience of
the Council, which will be hereafter described,) to the projects of laws
approved by the Chambers, suspending their operation in the mean time.
If the project be reapproved, the Government may suspend it until the
near termination of the period when the Chambers can consider the sub
ject. If it be then approved by two-thirds of both bodies, the Govern
ment will be obliged to publish it as a law. If the thirty days terminate
after the regular period of the session, the Government js to direct its
observations to the Permanent Deputation ; and if the term pass without
any action by the President, the law will be considered as sanctioned, and
published without delay.
The President may declare war, and dispose of the armed forces of the
nation as he sees fit, according to the objects of their institution. He may
expel from the Republic unnaturalized foreigners, who are deemed dan
gerous ; and he may name orators from the Council to defend the opinions
of the Government before the Chambers.
The Council of the Government is to be composed of seventeen per
sons named by the President, whose tenure of office is perpetual, and
whose duties are to give their aid to the Government in all matters required
in these Bases, and others upon which it shall be proper to consult them.
It is their privilege, moreover, to propose to the Government all regula
tions and systems they may deem necessary for the public good in every
branch of the administration.
By the sixth Title, the Judicial Power of the country is deposited in a
Supreme Court, in Departmental Tribunals, and others already estab
lished by law. There is to be a perpetual Court Martial, chosen by the
President. The Government of the Departments is regulated by the seventh
Title. Each Department is to have an Assembly composed of not more than
eleven, nor less than seven, who must be twenty-five years of age, and pos
sessed of the qualifications required for a Deputy to Congress. Their
term of office is four years.
The powers of these Assemblies are very simple and irresponsible,
and scarcely amount to more than a species of municipal police, the whole

344 MEXICO.
of which is subject to the review of the President of the Republic, and
of a Governor appointed by the President.
Title eighth, relates to the Electoral Power.
The population of Mexico is divided into sections of five hundred inhab
itants for the election of primary Juntas, and the citizens will vote, by
ticket, for one elector for every five hundred inhabitants. These primary
electors will name the secondary, who are to form the Electoral College
of the Department in the ratio of one secondary elector for every twenty
of the primary. This Electoral College, again, will elect the Deputies to
Congress, and the members of the Departmental Assembly ; and its mem
bers must have an income qualification of at least five hundred dollars
per annum.
On the 1st of November of the year previous to the expiration of the
Presidential term, each Departmental Assembly, by a majority of votes,
or, in case of a tie, by lot, will select a person as President for the suc
ceeding five years. There is no clause in the Instrument limiting the
term or terms for which an individual may be elected, or prescribing a
mode of supplying the vacancy occasioned by his death, resignation, or
incompetency.

Such is an outline of the chief features of this remarkable Document.
At its opening, it declares the establishment of a Popular Representative
Government, yet nothing can be less popular in its provisions than the
Instrument itself. The people are divided into classes of Citizens and
Inhabitants. Property qualifications are created, while domestic servants,
and the clergy, (no matter how honest, excellent and virtuous they may
be,) are disfranchised in the same category with gamblers and drunkards,
though they possess both the required income and education.
The opinion of the people is not to be taken directly by vote in regard
to the men who are to represent them in the Departments and in Con
gress, or to govern them in, the Presidency ; but their sentiments are to
be filtered through three bodies of Electors before their representation is
finally effected. And, last of all, the supreme power is vested in a Cen
tral Government, while the people are left with scarce a shadow of au
thority over their homes and interests in the Departments.
It will be at once observed, that President Santa Anna has thus suc
ceeded in enforcing his favorite scheme of Centralism. He must, there
fore, become directly responsible for its results, whether for evil or for
good, and the glory or disgrace of his country, in the estimation of all
foreign countries, must alight upon his head alone.

POWER OF THE PRESIDENT. 345
Qualifications, property, and the intrenchments of power, fortify him
on every side. He is very distant from the people. The four millions
of Mexican Indians, (scarcely one of whom ever had an annual income
of two hundred dollars in his life,) must always be unrepresented in the
Government. No hope is proposed to them of advancement or regeneration ;
while the Chief Magistrate, himself, is surrounded by a complicated ma
chine, that wants every element of democratic simplicity, and possesses
a thousand inlets to corruption and mismanagement. If it operates well, it
secures strong central authority. If it operates badly, it must break to
pieces like some cumbrous engine destroyed by the confusion and multi
plicity of its forces.
In either event, the President may deem himself safe. If the Bases
succeed in giving peace, progress, and prosperity to Mexico, he will have
the honor of the movement. But if he finds that they are not efficacious,
or are likely to injure his schemes, it will be a task neither of difficulty nor
danger, in so complicated a maze, to loosen some trifling screw, or throw
some petty wheel from its axle, by which the whole must be disarranged
without the responsibility of even Its humblest engineers.
So long as the President rules under an instrument which gives him
complete control of the army, the power to declare war, entire patronage
of the civil list, the right to impose fines, veto laws, and interfere with the
judiciary ; — he will possess an authority too great to be intrusted to any
one individual in our day and generation.
In the preceding sketch of Mexican Republicanism for the last twenty
years, you will observe that I have not aimed to give an extended notice of
the various leaders who placed themselves at the head of different move.
ments. I have not done so, because I perceived no evidence of a progressive
principle throughout the revolutions. The Government has generally
been strong enough to suppress all disturbances but those that were coun
tenanced by Santa Anna. With a true love of freedom among a few, a
scramble for power among others, and carelessness or supineness among
the great body of the people, — the country has gone on blundering from
revolution to revolution, without advancing nearer to liberty and enlight
enment than did the Barons of old when they sallied forth on feudal
forays against each other.

LETTER XXXIII,

POLITICAL PROSPECTS OF MEXICO.

There are in Mexico but two important classes of people, without any
numerous and distinctive body of enlightened lawyers or merchants, who,
together with the educated and respectable mechanics and agriculturists,
would counterbalance the influence of the church and the army.
Almost every respectable man you meet on the streets, bears some
military insignia upon his person ; and when the troops are abroad, you
will frequently find them commanded by beardless urchins of not more
than fifteen or sixteen years. In this manner, important families and
extensive connections are secured by a patronage which amounted, in the
year 1841, (as we have seen,) to the enormous sum of eight millions of
dollars. The other important class (but with diminished power,) is composed
of the clergy, who, — you will remember from the statistics already recorded
in these letters, — have accumulated a large share of the real property of
the Republic, in addition to the immense personal wealth that swells their
coffers. Thus, between the army and the church, (one by the direct influence
of authority and force, and the other by as dreaded spiritual weapons,)
the whole nation is surrendered to but two influences, while the body of
the people is too ignorant and disunited, and the men of wealth and edu
cation are too supine or peaceful, to interfere in behalf of the demo
cratic progress of their country. You are warned of this double domin
ion by the constant sound of the drum and the bell, which ring in your
ears from morn to midnight and drown the sounds of industry and labor.
It will be at once perceived, that, in such a state of society, there are
none either to express a disinterested public opinion in favor of really
free institutions, or to sustain them with manly energy.
I confess, that I have studied the history of her civil commotions without
satisfaction, in seeking for the causes of this political condition of Mexico.
They have always appeared to me (as I before said,) to be entirely ob
jectless, and rather momentary disorders than well devised revolutions.
They have been utterly unprogressive, and never enforced or decided a
principle. The result is, that in such a bungling system of strife, the people
have had neither peace nor advancement, while incessant commotion

CAUSES OF NATIONAL ADVERSITY. 347
has disturbed the healthful action of internal police, and consequently
impaired the morals of the masses.
It must be remembered that when Mexico threw off the Spanish yoke,
it was at first rather to get rid of her rulers than of her system ;— more
to overthrow foreign tyranny and colonial subjection, than to establish a
Republic. The original Plan of Iguala, to which Iturbede adhered, pro
posed the offer of the Mexican Crown to Ferdinand, as a separate sove
reignty from that of Spain. Events prevented the fulfillment of this
scheme ; and as soon as Iturbede became successful in his military career,
he influenced his soldiery (contrary to the wishes of the people, as ex
pressed in Congress,) to proclaim him Emperor.
Had there been intelligence, virtue, and power enough among the
masses to resist this encroachment in the bud ; or, had Iturbede imitated
Washington, in the possession of a limited authority together with great
popular confidence, he might have laid deeply and firmly the foundation
of a Republican Constitution. The people would have bestirred them
selves liberally in systems of National Education and improvement, and
a free Press would have completed the project by disseminating the prin
ciples of freedom to every nook and corner of the country. Instead of
this, however, the mass of good and educated men — unaided by liberal
example from the Government — found it impossible to unleaven the mob
of Spanish monarchism, or, to teach it to govern itself. Party spirit
began to rage without stint and for feigned objects. The contest was be
tween the possessors of power and the aspirants. The Yorkinos repre
sented or pretended to represent the republican or advance party. The
Escossaises — the aristocratic, or antagonists of a too liberal grant of popu
lar rights and privileges. In this manner the whole country has been
converted, by turns for twenty years, into a camp or battle-field. The army
(without a foreign war,) is regarded as a separate body, created and sup
ported — not to guard the nation against invading enemies — but to protect
the Government against the people ; and the church, in the meanwhile,
naturally leans in favor of that powerful support which preserves its pro
perty and its Orders.
A long continued disturbance of the nation, like this, has of course
checked industry and prevented emigration from abroad. It has made
agriculture but a menial toil ; — it has created an aristocracy of arms and
spiritual power ; — it has covered the people with foreign debt and domes
tic embarrassment ; — it has taught the masses to suffer control and to
lose independence ; — it has forced the Government to mortgage every re
source at ruinous interest; — it has fostered the most extensive political
corruption that ever beggared a nation, and has afforded an opportunity,
amid all this turmoil, to successive bands of ambitious plunderers to grow
rich on the public spoil.
The lesson of chicanery and corruption taught to its colony by old
Spain, — through her injustice and oppression, — became a principle of ac
tion, and duplicity was raised to the rank of a virtue.

348 MEXICO.
Nations, habituated to be ruled for centuries, cannot rule themselves in
a minute. People must learn to think for themselves, and, in order to do
so, must be instructed. Agriculture must be cherished, and farmers made
to elevate themselves in society ; — to become rich by their toil, and culti
vated by study. The mechanical class must become ambitious of being
something more than the mere servant of the capitalist's wants ; — in fine,
all classes must shake off that lethargy, which, arising either from old
habits, or an enervating climate, makes them the servants of the passing
hour, and content with bare existence.
As the agriculture of the country is chiefly in the hands of rich pro
prietors and of the church, that branch of independence has no general
influence. The mass of the mechanical class is exceedingly poor, and
indescribably ignorant ; and large portions of other classes are avaricious,
gambling and bigoted, while over all extends that spiritual power, which
still exercises an influence little inferior to the army.
Such a population, — ignorant, poor and servile, — cares but little for
politics ; and it is a mercy to rule them wisely and justly. If wages
are good, and crops plentiful, the farmer and mechanic are contented,
provided the taxes are not high. In a soil which yields so readily and
abundantly, and a temperature so genial, men are naturally indolent. It
is easier, thus provided with the necessaries of life, to be governed than
to govern, — especially, if they do not feel the pressure of the crown, or
the blows of the sceptre. They are, therefore, docile, quiet, and ready
to pass from one chief to another without inquiry. In addition to this, it
should always be remembered, that Mexico is of all civilized countries
perhaps the least accessible, both from abroad and in its interior; — its
coasts ravaged by dangerous fevers ; its territory piled up on an isthmus
between two great Continents on the north and south, and two great oceans on
the east and west. It may be literally called a nation hanging on the sides
of a mountain ; the Atlantic thundering at its base on the one side, and
the Pacific on the other ; without steamers, railways, or means for the
easy transmission of papers — by which not only the news of the day and
of the whole world may be transmitted to every cabin of its forests ;
but by which the people themselves may travel, easily and cheaply, and
thus become knit together by friendship, kindred, and kindly intercourse.
It is an affair of as much importance to make a journey of a hundred
miles,* as it was with us during the Revolution ; for not only are they
obliged to travel in slow coaches, over bad roads on mules and horses,
but they must be accompanied by a horde of servants and sumpter ani
mals, a mountain of bedding, baggage and cooking utensils, and, besides,
be guarded for fear of the robbers ! Thus, while there is no extensive in
tercommunication, there is less perhaps from abroad ; and, of course, the
opinions of Europe and America can have but little influence on a nation
* Last year only eleven hundred and nine persons arrived as passengers at Vera Cruz, and four hundred and
fifty-nine left that port, so that the average gain of population by emigration, was only six hundred and fourteen
through that city.

CAUSES OF NATIONAL ADVERSITY. 349
so imprisoned, both by the nature of its territory, and its own mismanage
ment. I have thus spoken of some of the causes of Mexican adversity ; let
me go further. It has been a difficult thing to make the Mexicans believe
that they possessed any other kind of wealth but money or mines. It was
difficult to make them understand that they were poor, in the midst of gold
and silver, and that the wealthiest nations were England and Holland,
the one without a precious mine in her soil, the other redeemed from the
washes of the sea.
In 1833, they were at the expense of $17,000,000 for their army, and
in 1841, of $8,000,000, with only between seven and eight millions of
people, and no foreign war ; and while they were furnishing from their mines
the circulating medium of the world, they thought themselves exceedingly
successful, if they could borrow money at an interest of fifty or even sixty
per cent.
Again, by the reduction of the export duty, on the precious metals,
to three per cent., and the lax administration of the Custom Houses
in the year from 1821 to 1822, $66,000,000 passed through the ports
regularly to foreign nations — besides what was secretly taken from the
country — which was thus depleted, in one twelvemonth, of a mass of wealth
that would have assured it prosperity for years. The consequence was
a paper money system, that soon lost its credit, and produced the most
disastrous results.
Again, they allowed no liberty of worship. They forbade foreigners
to acquire real estate or freehold interests of any kind ; — they clogged
their naturalization laws with odious incumbrances to emigrants ; — they
threw a thousand obstacles in the way of the marriage and even burial
of foreigners ; — and, as to the " protection " afforded by their tribunals, it
was too notoriously infamous to be patiently spoken of.
Again, after severe losses by the export of the precious metals, a
short-sighted policy was adopted by legislators in regard to commerce.
With fair promises and plausible declarations, they professed a spirit of
"free trade," while, at the same moment, there was no invention that
ingenuity could devise, which they did not throw in the way of mer
chants. They commenced the prohibitory system. They imposed duties
to the amount of double or triple the value of imports, allowing
but short indulgence on the bonds; and the result was, that there were
no cash sales. This operated as a direct bounty in favor of contraband,
not only in the importation of merchandise, but in the export of silver ; at
the same time that by these high duties the people were indirectly taxed
to an exorbitant degree, and the nation was deprived of a large revenue,
which she might have derived from moderate levies that would not have
tempted to illicit trade.
We are taught to regard this as an era of regeneration in the Govern-
ment of Mexico.

350 MEXICO.
General Santa Anna was the individual who struck the first blow
against the power of Iturbede", and it is to be hoped that his heart has not
grown cold to liberty as it has grown in years.
Now, although it is true that the people are usually but slightly inte
rested in the pronuncimientos, (which are made by regiments or officers of
the army,) yet, I believe that the emeutes of 1841 were decidedly popular
with the masses, and chiefly so, on account of an internal consumption
duty, which they found extremely onerous. It must be , said, in justice to
Bustamante and his cabinet, that they too were opposed to it; but find
ing Congress resolved to continue its enforcement, they felt bound to sus
tain the law as long as they were its ministers under a Constitution.
At the outset of his administration, in September, 1841, Santa Anna
had the most extraordinary difficulties to contend with. An army of near
thirty thousand men was on foot, and to be maintained ; — the officers of
the Government were extremely numerous, and to be paid ; — there were
dissensions among his troops, and jealousy of his power ; — the whole
country was in a political ferment ; — the copper currency (the only cur-
rency of the masses,) was depreciated more than fifty per cent. ; — and,
to crown the catalogue of misfortunes, when he entered the Palace there
was not a single dollar in the Treasury !
Still, he was unappalled by these amazing difficulties. He supported
his army, paid his clerks, quelled all dissensions among the troops and
officers, pacified the country, called in the copper coin and issued
new, dispersed a Congress whose Constitution he disliked — and, for
more than two years, has held the Supreme power of his country in de
fiance of rebellious chiefs and angry demagogues. Nor were his efforts
confined to his domestic relations alone, during this stormy period. By
his skill and energy he managed to avert the horrors of a foreign war,
and to preserve amicable intercourse with all those powers to whom
Mexico bears the relation of a debtor.
Having thus passed the most trying portion of his administration, and
established a system of" government which can scarcely be called consti
tutional, it is his first duty to administer that government with a strong
but patriotic arm. He must insure peace to his country at all hazards, —
even if that peace be effected by despotism. He must end, for ever, that
rebellious spirit in the army, which is so easily excited by every ambi
tious leader who obtains a momentary influence, and embroils the whole
nation in order to elevate him to power.
Foreigners, who are ignorant of the trials and turbulence by which he
is surrounded, and the efforts that are often made in Mexico to defeat the
most patriotic intentions, may call him a tyrant ; but it is, nevertheless, his
duty to persevere enduringly until he establishes permanent tranquillity,
under which alone his country can advance.

DISTRIBUTION OF CHURCH PROPERTY. 351
There is one thing which, I confess, I desire particularly to see Gene-
ral Santa Anna effect; and that is, an act for which the reign of Henry
VIII. is chiefly commendable. I mean the seizure and distribution of the
church property.
It is true, that the President may have yet to fear a power which
the brotherhood possess^, not only over the common people, but over the
very common materials of which the army is composed ;— but dangerous
diseases require dangerous remedies, and a bold and trustful hand to apply
them. Henry VIII. did this in an essentially Catholic country and in a
most superstitious age, and it has been recently effected in Spain and
Havannah. In order to effect this object, successfully, and in the most
beneficial manner, not only to the church but to the mass of the people,
it would be well for him, in his present increase of the army, to press
into the service every idler, vagabond or lepero, with whom the city and
the suburbs swarm; and after due drilling, and accustoming them to
military obedience, to colonize these troops in the different parts of the
Republic, giving, as bounties for their services, portions of the estates
now held by the priesthood, reserving the rest for sale at moderate
prices to the Indians who labor for the church. In doing this he would
benefit the nation by bringing a large property into the common weal,
and by giving employment to thousands, whose utter vagrancy and vaga
bondism are unparalleled in any other part of the world.
The territory thus acquired, and sold or distributed, — what a picture of
dawning civilization would spread over the land ! The half-starved slaves
of the church, and of the large proprietors, erected suddenly into manli
ness, would stand up feeling that they were truly human, and a speedy
intellectual progress would commence with the acquirement of property.
The increased productions of the soil would naturally require new
markets — markets would produce new roads — new means of transporta
tion — new inventions of agricultural implements — new wants in articles
of taste, luxury and refinement. Men would begin to travel on the new
roads. Mexico would become acquainted with herself. The idle spirit
created by lavish productions of the mines, would be aroused from its
lethargy. There would be a gradual infusion of foreign blood, making
her citizens emulous of other nations ; and thus, in a few years, Mexico
would behold her own ships bearing abroad her own products — would
learn that she had within her soil other sources of wealth besides her ores
— would attract back some of the millions she has furnished the world for
the last three hundred years, and, in fine, become in every respect inde
pendent. These are beautiful objects to present for a patriot's ambition. If he
possesses the power and influence, which I think he does, Santa Anna can
effect all this if he lives, for he has talents and energy competent to the
task ; but if he fails and assumes the Imperial purple, I shall be as mis
taken as I shall feel grieved to see so glorious a chance for a splendid
immortality lost by a hero.

352 MEXICO.
To the reorganization, then, of his country, Santa Anna will, I believe,
apply himself vigorously and he must remember, that although the
same spirit of aristocracy; and democracy were at work in the United
States immediately after our Revolution, that they had very different mate
rials to operate on. Let him but emulate the example of Washington,
whose government, it must be acknowledged, was a strong one, during
a long period of his Presidency. Our Constitution was then assailed by
many perils. The inflammatory appeals of Genet ; the bitterness engen
dered by Jay's treaty ; Congress doubtful of its powers ; the States mutually
distrustful ; agriculture and commerce languishing ; and an anarchical
spirit disseminated through the land ! — Yet, above all these discords, rose
the calm, patient and patriotic spirit of Washington, triumphant ; equally
untempted by the blandishments of power, and unquailing before the dan
gerous assumption of authority. He knew the true interests of the people,
and working for them alone, confided to the generous heart of the nation,
to interpret his acts aright, when he seemed to trench on the Constitution.
He dared to take an unpopular side, and thus checked Genet, — had him
recalled, and settled the French interest and interference for ever. He
assured peace by the sanction of Jay's treaty — and, as he says himself in
one of his letters, " gave our country time to settle and mature its yet
recent institutions, and to progress, without interruption, to that degree of
strength and consistency which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking,
the command of its own fortunes." And yet, throughout this trial, with
what malevolent bitterness was he assailed even by the people he had just
freed ! Painful, indeed, is power, when it has to combat, by virtuous and
truly patriotic efforts, the prejudices, errors, and selfishness of the multi
tude for which it toils !
It was remarked by Mr. Jefferson, in regard to our country, that " more
than a generation will be requisite, under the administration of reasonable
laws, favoring the progress of knowledge in the general masses of the
people, and their habituation to an independent security of person and
property, before they will be capable of estimating the value of freedom,
and the necessity of a sacred adherence to the principle on which it rests
for preservation. Instead of that liberty which takes root and growth in
the progress of reason, if recovered by mere force or accident, it becomes
with an unprepared people — the tyranny, still, of the many — of the few —
of the one."*
It may perhaps be improper for me, after so short a residence in the
country, to make suggestions as to the mode of its regeneration ; but there
are many obvious improvements which must strike every one, and which
it will not be inappropriate to mention. It seems to me to be absolutely
necessary : — * Letter cxxi.

HER PROPER POLICY. 353
1st. To establish a- constitutional Confederacy.
2nd. To assure the people of the permanency of that institution, and of
pacific self-government. J
3rd. To encourage emigration, holding out inducements to foreigners,
either alluring them to acquire freehold property, or such title to real
estate, as will confer upon them the unquestionable and undisturbed right
to the soil for a considerable. length of time.
4th. To alter the tariff, so as to free trade from many of the ridiculous
restrictions that impair it, and allow native industry to take its direction
from wholesome competition, rather than dangerous legislation.
5th. To establish a universal system of public education.
6th. To make the Press entirely free.
7th. To distribute the church lands among the people, or to put them
up at such minimum prices, as will enable all classes to become free
holders. 8th. Gradually to diminish the army, and colonize it.
9th. To destroy the corruption of Government patronage, and purify the
Customs. 10th. To restore the mining interests, and reform the mint.
11th. To purify the Judiciary, and cause law to be fairly administered
between man and man.
12th. To destroy the contraband trade entirely : and
13th. To permit religious liberty.
Of all these improvements, I regard the encouragement of emigration
as the most essential, after the establishment and assurance of peace
and religious liberty. Men will not toil to get rich, merely by virtue of
acts of Congress. It requires the stimulus of example, and the infusion
of a new and energetic blood into the system.
Nor is it to be feared, that the country will be absorbed at once by for
eigners and foreign influence. The old staid Spanish prejudice, in favor
of its own kindred, must be overcome. French, Irish, Dutch, Germans,
Spaniards, Italians, Russians, Hebrews, Greeks, Norwegians, Swedes, —
all find representatives in our population, harmoniously acting together
for their personal advantages and the prosperity of the common weal.
Many years will be required to produce adequate confidence in Euro
peans and North Americans, to induce them to emigrate to Mexico for the
purpose of settlement. They have had too hard a lesson in the past, to
allow them to plunge into Mexican trade and territory again, notwith
standing the temptation of the country. Emigration will be by gradual
and kindly progress, and I question much whether the feelings or the lan
guage of the nation will be changed. It will be a melioration of lot,
without an alteration of nature ; and thus, without any violent disturbance
of the tastes, sympathies, or prejudices of the old, a new race will grow
up with the renewed country, regenerated by the graft of foreign stamina
and talent. 23

354 MEXICO.
Mexico, must not, however, flatter herself, that the world is humbly on
its knees seeking admittance at her portal. Not so. She has too long
exhibited the picture of an ill-regulated and quarrelsome household to
tempt mankind to become her inmates, notwithstanding the allure
ments of her beauty. I do not believe that she will ever advance to any
degree of greatness, without foreign emigration to her shores ; yet, in
order to attract an influx of artisans and laborers, ripe from the improved
fields and the skillful workshops of the rest of the world, she must prove
herself worthy of their advent by the peaceful and prosperous future she
promises to secure them.
If Mexico, however, sees fit to pursue a narrow system of exclusion,
akin to that under which she suffered while a colony of Spain, I confess
that I behold but little prospect for her future. She will want the illustration
of example — the virtue of emulation. As long as Santa Anna remains at
the head of affairs, and is able to retain control over the army by pay or
by its attachment to his person, — so long will that remarkable genius
continue to preserve tranquillity. But it may be the peace of dread, —
the subordination of fear, — the muteness of slavery. If, in the meantime,
he chooses to bring the people gradually to a knowledge of their rights
and a habit of self-government, while he destroys, for ever, the disturbers
of their peace, — he will mingle the patriot's with the hero's wreath, and
deserve a high place in the story of this Continent's progress to glory.
But if, on the other hand, he is seduced by the possession of power or
only continues to hold it for despotism and plunder ; — if the result of his
administration is unsuccessful, and those who came into authority under
solemn pledges to purify the Government shall prove false to their trust ; —
if such are to he the only results of so much tumult and warfare, the
downfall of Mexico is, indeed, close at hand !
The clouds of rebellion which have so long lowered over the country,
will descend in showers of 'blood, — and a war of retribution, or, of castes,
as in Guatemala, must end the circle, and give up again the fair territorv
of Mexico to the forests and its beasts or to be the spoil of some foreign
invader. In every event, her fate must be most interesting to the people of the
United States. If peace, and its train of attendant results, are to bless
her with success and happiness, our stake and sympathy with her repub
lican system must be great and enduring. If anarchy, and dismember
ment of her States ensue, we will be burdened with a dangerous neigh
bor and annoying enemy. But if foreign occupation be attempted, the
bloody war that must ensue, can only be ended by the expulsion of the
intruder, and the ree'stablishment of republicanism on this Continent.

RETURNHOME. 355

CONCLUSION.
On the 9th of November, 1842, I left the Capital in the diligence, ac
companied by Mr. Peyton Southall bearing dispatches to our Govern
ment. We had secured the attendance of a strong guard, and found
three or four Englishmen in the coach as well accoutred as ourselves.
I was greatly struck with the change that had been effected in every.
thing during the last year. The road was in excellent order ; — the ruts
in the mountain sides had been filled and levelled ; — the inns were re
fitted and neatly kept ; — the villages along the way-side had been cleaned
and painted, and scarcely a vestige remained of the misery and desola
tion that oppressed me on my arrival.
On the 11th, at sunset, we passed through Plan del Rio, — supped at
Puente Nacional, — and, at daylight on the 12th, (precisely a year from
the date of my arrival,) again reached " La Villa rica de la Vera Cruz."
After a delay of a day or two we embarked on board the U. S. Steamer
Missouri. On the 20th, we reached the southwest pass of the Missis
sippi, and once more hailed with pleasure our native shores.
I only repeat the sentiment of almost every traveller in the beautiful
country I have been describing, when I say, — that no matter how impatient
we may be to leave Mexico, yet, when her frontier has been passed, per
haps for ever, there are few who do not long to enjoy once more her
cloudless skies, her bountiful soil, and her eternal spring !

THE END.
23*

APPENDIX. No. 1.
A SUPPLEMENTARY LETTER ON THE SANDWICH ISLANDS, THE CA.
LIFORNIAS, AND THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES
IN REGARD TO THE ENCROACHMENTS OF ENGLAND.

If there is anything that peculiarly distinguishes the statesmanship of England,
it is the prospective wisdom with which its Ministers (while guarding the mo
mentary interests at home,) seek new vents for the labor of its population and for
the surplus of that population, also, when it becomes too crowded within the limits
of the British Islands. It is the want of this vigilant policy that peculiarly char
acterizes our own country. In the midst of a vast territory, with ample room for
the expansion of our inhabitants for hundreds of years, we are careless of the
future, and we do not look with wariness to those geographical points of vantage
around the earth of which England is gradually possessing herself, for the exten
sion and guardianship of her commercial interests. We thus permit a grasping
and ambitious rival to monopolize positions which, if they do not directly affect
the people of our own generation, cannot fail, especially in the event of war, to
injure and annoy our posterity.
We have seen Great Britain add Affghanistan, Scinde, and the Chinese Empire,
to her control within the last two years ; at the same time fixing her power
steadily in Canada, by the suppression of every symptom of rebellious spirit. We
have seen her firmly planted within her fortresses at Bermuda, establishing her
self at the Balize, and encroaching on Guatemala ; we have seen her holding the
key of the Mediterranean at Gibraltar, and the power of the Straits at Malta and
the Ionian Isles ; we find her in the southern Atlantic, at St. Helena, and in the
Indian Seas at numberless islands ; and we learn that she at last pounced, with
out warning, on the Hawaiian group, with the same spirit that animated her con
quests in China, (although she has since officially disavowed the acts of her offi
cer.) Britain has thus encircled the globe with her power, and in this greedy acqui
sition of territory, and prudent husbandry of resources, our Statesmen should
at least perceive a warning of danger from a bold and ambitious rival, if they do
not learn a lesson which, under similar circumstances, they would be studious to
emulate. The temper of our Republic is entirely too much devoted to the interests of the
passing day. We writhe under debt, and we rush into repudiation. We suffer
under financial distress, and we adopt some palliative expedient that saves us from
momentary ruin. We dislike the policy of the hour, and we attribute it exclu
sively to Executive misrule ; and the continual distractions of the whole scheme
of our popular government seem but to nourish an unceasing nervousness as to
who is to rule, and who to control the national patronage. This spirit is creating
a vacillating system, which, in the end, must become nationally characteristic. If

358 APPENDIX
persisted in, it will destroy all stability of purpose and extended aim of statesman
ship ; and, while it generates a class who are willing to become pliant tools of
power in return for official emolument, it will ultimately affect the hopes and the
, enterprise of all those industrious citizens who are willing to labor and amass
wealth by a slow, but safe course of national policy, wisely adopted and steadily
pursued. It was not my purpose, however, to address you a homily on national politics
when I commenced this letter ; but I thought these remarks altogether proper, as
introductory to some account of the character, situation, and resources of the
Hawaiian Islands and the Californias, in connection with the observations I design
making upon our wide-spread interests in the Pacific, the Indian Seas, and the
Western Coast of the Americas, and the encroachments of England.
I will proceed, then, without further preface, to offer some notices of the Sand
wich Islands, and afterward of the Californias, showing their great importance, at
least, to the trade of our country.
The eight Hawaiian Islands form a volcanic group in the Pacific, lying between
18° 50' and 22° 20' N. latitude, and 154° 53' and 160° 15' W. longitude, embracing
a surface of rather more than six thousand square miles, of which the Island of
Hawaii contains about four thousand. The whole population is estimated at one
hundred and nine thousand, and although the soil is in many places not of a kindly
character, and better adapted to grazing than agriculture, yet, in the upland valleys,
there are extensive patches of rich land that may be easily cultivated, and capable
of producing two crops of wheat annually. This, however, id all the better for the
natives, as the comparative poverty of the earth requires the constant care of the
laborer, and is, therefore, more likely to create an industrious class than in more
prolific climates.
On the low grounds, coffee, sugar, tobacco, cotton, mulberry and cocoa, may be
readily produced ; and to these may be added, yams, potatoes, cocoanuts, bread
fruit, arrow-root, the kalo, or aurum esculentum ; and among fruits, tlie strawberry,
raspberry, ohelo, melons, chirimoyas, limes, oranges, guyavas, pine-apples, grapes,
peaches, figs, citrons, tamarinds and kalo. Oil may be easily extracted from the
nut of the kukui tree.
In former times, one of the chief productions of these Islands was sandal-wood,
with which the forests abounded. In the year ending in March, 1832, three
hundred and ninety-five tuns of this article, valued at seventy-four thousand four
hundred and seventy-one dollars, were imported into China from various places.
In 1816 it was the chief source of revenue, and became, also, the chief source of
the demoralization of this group. In that year, four hundred thousand dollars
worth was exported to the Indies, where it was used by the Hindoos in their reli
gious ceremonials, and by the Chinese in various manufactures of articles of
luxury and taste. So great, however, was the demand, and so easily satisfied in the
forests of the Sandwich Islands, that the natives were tempted by a ready sale to
destroy almost every tree ; until, under a wiser administration of their interests, they
entirely forbade the cutting of the timber. The wood is represented as again be"-
ginning to flourish ; so that, in the course of a few years, it will be made once
more a source of fruitful revenue.
Besides the sandal-wood, a number of other richly-veined woods are found, and
are said to be as valuable for .articles of furniture, as the choicest products of ihe Bra
zilian forests.

APPENDIX.

359

Game, poultry, wild goats and hogs, fish and wild fowl, are to be had in abund
ance ; and, although horses have been brought in numbers from the West Coast,
yet they always command a high price and are greatly valued. There are no ser
pents, and but few insects ; and, while in the interior any temperature may be
gained by gradual elevation, even to constant snow ; — on the coast the thermometer
averages about 79° Fahrenheit, and the climate is so salubrious, equal and mild,
that, in the native language, " there is no word to express the general idea of
weather." The chief harbor is at Honolulu ; and the following Table will afford you some
idea of the extent of the commerce of the Island previous to 1832. In 1823, from
forty to sixty whalers, mostly American, were to be seen in the Isles at one time ;
and the trade in sandal- wood was carried on briskly.
STATEMENT
Of the number of ships that touched at Woahoo, one of the Sandwich Islands, during
the eight years ending with 1831, distinguishing between English and American,
and between Whale and Merchant ships.

ENGLISH.

Years.
Whalers.
Merchant.
Total.
Ships.
Tuns.
Ships.
Tuns.
Ships.
Tuns.
1824
15
5,798
2
500
17
6,298
1825
18
7,765
2
400
20
8,165
1826
11
4,854
2
410
13
5,264
1827
16
6,505
2
334
18
6,839
1828
26
9,772
5
391
31
10,663
1829
21
8,172
6
1,199
27
9,371
1830
16
6,982
10
1,693
26
8,675
1831
23
8,567
7
AMEKICAU
1,292
f.
30
9,859
1824
50
15,688
16
3,163
66
18,851
1825
37
11,539
19
4,077
5G
15,616
1826
67
21,892
21
3,996
88
25,888
1827
66
21,261
16
3,693
82
24,954
1828
90
31,188
26
5,841
116
37,029
1829
87
31,087
21
5,210
108
36,297
1830
77
26,860
23
4,073
100
30,932
1831
58
21,560
25
.5,488
83
26,148
TJNDER
OTHEE FOREIGN FLAGS
Total.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tuns.
1824
5
1,330
88
26,479
1825.
3
950
79
24,731
1826
6
1,112
107
32,264
1827
7
1,721
107
33,514
1828
8
2,513
155
50,005
1829
4
1,003
139
46,671
1830
3
512
129
40,122
1831
5
1,172
118
37,179
From 1836 to 1841, not less than three hundred and fifty-eight vessels belong
ing to the United States, chiefly whalers, arrived at Honolulu, each of them
expending, on an average, from six hundred to seven hundred dollars. During
360 APPENDIX.
the same period, seventeen vessels of war of our country also visited the Islands,
and in this number is included the Exploring Expedition, which made extensive
observations in Science and Natural History among the group.
In the same five years there were only eighty-two English vessels, also mostly
whalers, and nine men of war ; seven French merchantmen, and five men of war ;
and a few scattering vessels from Mexico, Chili, Tahiti, Sydney, China, Russia
and Prussia. At the port of Lahaina, the average annual number of our whalers
is from thirty to fifty, and from twelve to twenty in tlie rest of the ports.
The Imports for four and a half years previous to the 12th of September, 1840,
are stated in " The Polynesian" to have been $1,567,000, of which $742,000
were from the United States.
The Exports for the same period were $1,388,100, of which $65,000 were in
sandal-wood, $59,500 in hides, and the balance in goat-skins, salt, and sugar.
During the same time ten vessels were owned by residents, of which seven were
the property of our citizens, and three of Englishmen.
I have derived from Mr. Jarves's excellent work on these Islands, published
last February, in Boston, the substance of the following statistics :
He estimates the value of American property touching annually at Honolulu,
including the outfits of whalers, at the lowest possible calculation, to be $1,200,-
000. If to this be added the cargoes of oil, &c, the amount would unquestionably
be swelled to at least $4,000,000. More than two thousand seamen navigate our
vessels, exclusive of those employed on board of our national ships, and to the
above sums we should join the value of the latter vessels, when estimating the
American property which owes its security and protection to the harbors of these
Islands. The value of the property of other nations is of course in proportion to
their shipping ; but it may safely be stated, that the interests of the United States
are four times greater than those of England, and that the importations are in the
same ratio. IMPORTS FROM 1836 TO 1841.
From the United States, .  $935,000
" England, - -  127,600
•' California,  282,700
" China,  233,990 '
" Mexico, (specie and bullion,) .... 167,600
" Chili, - -  160,000
" Various countries, ----... 127,300

$2,034,190

EXPORTS DURING THE SAME PERIOD.

Sandal-wood  $65,000
Hides,  90,000
Goat-skins  27,240
Sugar,  34,000
Molasses,  17,130
Arrow-root,  5,820
Salt, ...  20,000
Sperm-oil, (vessels from Honolulu)  ' 13,900
Sundries, supplies to shipping, &c, - . - . . 275,000

$548,000

APPENDIX. a61
It must be recollected, that large amounts of the imports were purchased for
reshipment, from this central position, or entre-depot, to California, the Russian
settlements, and tlie Southern Islands.
There are sixty families of Americans, including the missions, on the Islands
and about an equal number formed by intermarriage with the natives The'
Americans exceed, by several hundreds, all other foreigners, the most numerous
of whom are English and Chinese. The cost valuation of our citizens' property
in buildings, furniture, &c, cannot be less than one hundred thousand dollars ';
while the whole amount invested in permanent improvements, agriculture, ves
sels, and stock in trade, is certainly over one million. In 1836, it was rated at
but four hundred thousand dollars, and the property of other foreigners at one
fifth. When the first missionaries arrived in these Islands, in 1820, they found an
idle, vicious, profligate population ; a nation given up to sensuality, lying, drunk
enness, riot, treachery, lewdness, and murder ; men with whom retaliation signi
fied justice, and who retained, amid their moral ruin, but a single virtue, and that
one the stoic power of endurance, derived from listlessness and an utter disregard
of life.
But under the management of the judicious persons who were sent out to these
Islands, the whole aspect of affairs has been changed. Amid the taunts of care
less visitors, and the immoral interference of many whose pride it should have
been to rebuke a spirit of disorder, and to encourage the missionaries in their
noble labors, they have persevered in the foundation of a Christian Church, and
the formation of a Government, which, " if left to itself, and treated by other nations
with justice and courtesy, is fully competent to discharge all its relations, not only
for the maintenance of its own internal peace, and the security of person and
property to all who visit its shores, but to conform to all the settled principles of
international law."
The missionaries have overcome a multitude of difficulties. They have
almost blotted out the vices that characterized the Islands, at their advent. They
found intoxicating liquors forced on the natives by the French Government,
through the hostile intervention of its navy, and they put down intemperance by
the moral power of societies. They met the introduction of a different sect by
additional zeal. They found a people grossly ignorant, and they taught them the
wisdom of other nations. They found a band of savages, with a rich soil, fierce
tempers, and abandoned habits ; and they have, while civilizing the people and
bringing them into the folds of Christianity, taught them the value of their lands,
the dignity and usefulness of commerce and labor, and the excellence of virtue.
After twenty years of missionary labor, one of these gentlemen was called on to
deliver a course of lectures on political science, and the result was a Constitution
and a Code of Laws — regulating every department of an organized Government on
a plan as near as wisdom would allow the adoption of our system among a people
emerging into civilization. Two extensive editions of the Bible have been dis
tributed over the Islands ; more than seventeen thousand Protestants gather in
the churches, and eighteen thousand children are educated in the schools !
Thus silently, and almost unknown to us, away in those distant seas, has a
nation been called into existence by a few Christian teachers, without arms, and
by moral influences alone. Barbarous idolatry, and brutal sensuality, have been
abandoned, and Christianity and civilization have taken their places. The com
mercial advantages of the Islands have, at the same time, attracted the attention

362 APPENDIX.
of our enterprising people, and while they have formed the chief resort of our
whalers and our navy in the Pacific, they have ministered to a trade more exten
sive on our part than on that of any other nation.

THE CALIFORNIAS.
In the preceding part of this letter, I gave you some account of the Sandwich
Islands, their trade and importance to our Union ; and I will now proceed to
present some notices of the Californias, with the view of drawing your attention
to certain conclusions to which I have come, in regard to American interests in
the Pacific.
Lower California, although discovered in 1534 by Grijalva, was almost un
known for more than a hundred years, when the first Jesuit missionaries com
menced their labors in the year 1683. Salvatierra, Ugarte and Piccoli, with the
Virgin for their patron, attempted the conquest with arms, and by moral influ
ences ; and although in 1786 fifteen missionary establishments had been made,
yet the whole of the peninsula seems to have turned out barren and valueless to
trade, except so far as the Pearl-fishery produced a very considerable revenue.
In 1587, according to Acosta, six hundred and ninety-seven pjunds of this precious
article were imported into Seville ; but in 1831, (the latest account I can find of
any authority,) the whole fishery had dwindled into utter insignificance. There
were then but four vessels and two boats engaged in it ; and the two hundred
divers who manned them, obtained, in all, but eighty-eight ounces of pearls,
valued at little more than thirteen thousand dollars.
Upper California, however, is different in its natural characteristics. No
great impression was made on it by the missionaries in their " spiritual conquest"
until 1768. Since then it has gradually progressed, (under the influence, I be
lieve, of the Franciscan monks,) until twenty-one missions are numbered within
its limits, and twenty-three thousand and twenty-five Indians, troops and Creoles,
have come within their dominion, of which number only about five thousand are
of Spanish extraction. Each of these missions has a tract assigned to it of fifteen
miles square ; and the Indian population, gathered from the neighboring wander
ing tribes, is placed within its boundaries, under vigilant surveillance ; worked,
fed, clothed, taught the Christian doctrine, and subjected (according to Forbes,)
to an absolute slavery. They are idle, stupid, pusillanimous, sickly, and have
made no progress, either in the arts necessary for personal comfort or of national
government. The portion of Upper California, at present occupied by settlers and missions,
is about five hundred English miles in extent, and runs, in breadth, from the sea
to the first ranges of hills on the west. The area of this occupied land is about
thirteen millions of acres, forming but an insignificant portion of the whole terri
tory, which, in " superficial extent, is equal to many of the most extensive king
doms of Europe." Beyond the western hills, about forty miles from the sea, the
country is a wilderness, held by scattered tribes, but little known and seldom
visited. But all the explorers who have visited California, describe it as a magnifi
cent country. The territory behind the highlands is " reckoned superior to the
coast, and is said to consist of plains, lakes, and hills, beautifully diversified, and
of the greatest natural fertility ; capable of yielding every variety of vegetable

APPENDIX. 363
production, and abounding with timber of the greatest size." The mean tem
perature of San Francisco in December is 53°, the maximum being 66° and the
minimum 46, while the hygrometer is said to indicate a remarkably dry atmosphere.
In different districts, the country is varied by hill and dell, and by occasional
mountains rising to the height of a thousand, and sometimes three thousand feet,
while the adjacent soil is of the richest loam. A river has been traced some
hundreds of miles upward, toward the northeast, from the bay of San Francisco.
From Monterey to Santa Clara, the scenery " may be compared to a park which
had been planted with the true old English oak, with its undergrowth cut away,
and the stately lords of the forest left in complete possession of the soil, which
was covered with luxuriant herbage, and beautifully diversified with pleasing
eminences and vales."
In the garden of the Mission of Buenaventura, Vancouver was struck with the
quantity and variety of the productions, not only indigenous to the country, but
" appertaining to the temperate as well as to the torrid zone ; — such as apples,
pears, plums, figs, oranges, grapes, peaches, pomegranates, plantains, bananas,
cocoanuts, sugar cane, indigo, and every useful variety of kitchen plants and me
dicinal roots." " It would not be easy," says Forbes,* " to match such au assem
blage as this elsewhere, and yet this is only a part of the fruits and vegetables
now cultivated in California."
The forests are thick and abundant, filled with oaks, elms, birch, planes, and
great varieties of pines ; and the ranges of hills and mountains which bound the
maritime portions to the northeast, shelter it from the only winds that might injure
the fruits of the soil, and tend to preserve the eternal spring that seems to reign
for ever over this favored land.
Immense herds of horses run wild in California ; and it is said that, in some
places, the horned cattle even render the country unsafe for passengers. Deer, a
variety of birds, and exhaustless quantities of fish, are also found ; but I will better
convey to you an idea of the productions of the country by transcribing some of
the tables given by Mr. Forbes, whose long residence on the Western Coasts of
America, entitles him to the greatest confidence and respect. Agriculture in gen
eral, is but poorly conducted, the implements being nearly the same as those that
were brought by the earliest settlers ; and the grains that are cultivated are only
wheat, barley, maize, and frijoles, or, a bean used as the favorite food by .all the
natives. The following is the whole produce on the portion of Upper California, which
was cultivated in 1831 :
Wheat,  25,"*
Maize, or corn, -  10'1 .
Frijoles, ..------ 1-J44
Gervanzos and peas, ..---- *f°
t> i ... 7,405
Barley,  '
46,202— fanegas.
The wheat and barley may be calculated to be worth $2 the fanega; the maize
$ 1,50 ; and the fanega, itself, to contain about two bushels and a half English
* In his work on California.

364 APPENDIX.
measure. The wheat, it will be perceived, is greater than any of the other grains ;
and this is the reverse of what usually occurs throughout the rest of Mexico.*
The mills for grinding flour are few and primitive ; and although, as we have
seen, all sorts of vegetables and fruits, from the potatoe to the vine, fig and pines,
may be readily cultivated ; and although the same extent of ground will produce
about three times as much wheat as England, and returns maize one hundred and
fifty fold ; yet every species of agriculture seems to be abandoned that is not
merely and absolutely necessary to support existence. Pasturage here, as well
as throughout most of the Spanish settlements, appears to be the great object of
the farmer ; and he derives his profits from it in the easiest manner, by the sale
either of his beeves and horses, or of their fat and hides.
The following table will give you the total number of cattle, of all descriptions,
for the year 1831 :f
Black cattle,  216,727
Horses, - -  32,201
Mules,  2,844
Asses  177
Sheep, ...  153,455
Goats  1,873
Swine, ...  839
In addition to these, there are numbers at large which are not marked as belong
ing to any of the jurisdictions, missions, haciendas or towns ; and are hunted, las
soed and slain, to prevent their interference with the pasturage of the more useful
cattle. But from all this vast multitude but little advantage is gained, except in
the hides and tallow. Butter and cheese are almost unknown, and the dairy con
sequently altogether neglected. A fat ox is worth $5 ; a cow $5 ; a horse, for
the saddle, $10 ; a mare $5 ; a sheep $2, and a mule is worth $10.
In former times, it was not unusual to find a thousand head of cattle driven to
the city of Mexico from the large estates on the Pacific ; and although the practice
is still continued, yet it is not to the extent as formerly. During the first few years
after the opening of the ports, the trade with California was but trifling. The
amount of exports was then estimated, at about thirty thousand hides and seven
thousand quintals of tallow, with some trifling cargoes to San Bias, being not
more than $130,000 in total value ; but within a few years past the trade has con
siderably increased, and a brisk intercourse has been conducted, almost entirely
by Americans, with the Sandwich Islands. There is but small internal commerce,
and although it forms part of the Mexican Republic, it is almost entirely cut off
and isolated from the great, mass of the nation.
Besides a genial climate, and an exceedingly prolific soil, Upper California has
several of the best harbors on the Western Coast of America.
Monterey, which was recently taken possession of by Commodore Jones, in the
most impromptu manner, is tolerably safe, though but an open roadstead. San
Diego has a good and secure anchorage. San Pedro is an extensive bay, with
good holding ground, but almost totally unknown. San Juan has an anchorage of
five fathoms throughout the bay, and San Francisco, (a narrow arm of the sea,
penetrating far inland, by a safe and deep channel,) forms one of ihe most capacious
and secure harbors in the world. It is perfectly shielded from every wind, and tlie
largest frigates may ride in safety on its bosom.
* Forbes, 260. f Forbes, 265.

APPENDIX. 365
It is useless to contrast the trifling result produced by the missionaries in Cali
fornia after a century's labors, with that of the missionaries in the Sandwich
Islands, after but twenty-five years. Yet we cannot help noticing that, while in
the Islands there are seventeen thousand persons in the church, and eighteen
thousand in the schools, the total number of reclaimed Indians in California is not
more than eighteen thousand six hundred and eighty-three, and those, even, are
generally unable to read ;— without books, bibles, or paper, and altogether inca
pable of seH-government. The ministers of both creeds have, doubtless, been
zealous in spirit, but certainly with very unequal success.
You may now very reasonably ask me, (after having perused all these details,)
of what interest are they, either to yourself or our country'! and why I should direct
your attention to a portion of the territory of a neighboring power with which we
are at peace, and likely to remain so 1
I trust sincerely that these pacific relations may long continue. It is the inte
rest of both Powers that they should do so, and especially that of Mexico. An
ardent friendship between us, founded on mutual faith and similar republican insti
tutions, cannot fail to affect the destinies of this Continent ; and I trust you will
not imagine, therefore, that I am pointing out the treasures of the Californias for
the purpose of alluring people to the enterprise of another Texas. But the
condition of Mexico is extremely unsettled. It is impossible to declare or imagine
what will be the ultimate issue of the continual revolutions, that have torn the
vitals of that beautiful country for twenty years. She may consolidate her prov
inces, she may adopt a Federal Government, or she may dismember her Empire,
each State setting up a separate and independent rule for herself ; but, in any event,
it is proper that we should not so cautiously watch her, as watch Great Britain in re
gard to her. Mexico partakes in the Spanish pride of territorial dominion and reten
tion of her soil ; but she is in extreme difficulties. She owes (we have seen,) a
debt of $60,000,000 to England ; and to the United States a debt of more than
$2,000,000. Her maritime revenues are mortgaged for an internal debt of $18,-
550,000 ; and, in all, she owes nearly eighty-five millions, England being always
the largest creditor, to the extent, perhaps, of three-fourths of the whole.
How is she to pay England ? To liquidate a portion of the debt and interest due
the United States, (of little more than $200,000,) she was obliged to resort to a
forced loan from her citizens, as you have recently observed. Suppose that a dis
memberment takes place, or, that England, after accumulating her claims and
wrath, until she thinks the amount and energy sufficient for all exigencies, sud
denly orders her Minister in Mexico to demand payment or his passports — what
must inevitably be the result ? I will tell you in the language of Forbes, in order
to show that this is no vain imagination of the moment excited in an American
fancy. The value of California is known and appreciated in England.
"California," says our author, at page 146,* "is quite a distinct country
from Mexico, and has nothing in common with it, except that the present inhabit
ants are of the same family ; it is therefore to be apprehended, that on any cause
of quarrel between the two countries, it will be apt to separate itself from the
parent State."
This shows you the possibility of a disunion, without any very violent effort or
loss on either side ; but, at page 152, he boldly broaches the idea of cancelling the
English debt, by a transfer of California to her creditors. " This," says he,
" would be a wise measure on the part of Mexico, if the Government could be
* Forbes's California, London, 1839. Mr. Forbes is. or was, until recently, British Consul in one of the ports
on the West Coast of Mexico.

366 APPENDIX.
brought to lay aside the vanity of retaining large possessions. The cession of
such a disjointed part of the Republic as California, would be an advantage. In
no case can it ever be profitable to the Mexican Republic, nor can it possibly re-
main united to it for any length of time. Therefore, by giving up this territory
for the debt, would be getting rid of this last for nothing. * * * *
If California were ceded for the English debt, the creditors might be formed into a
Company, with the difference, that they should have a sort of sovereignty over the
territory — somewhat in the manner of the East India Company. This, in my
opinion, would certainly bring a revenue in time which might be equal to the
debt ; and, under good management and with an English population, would most
certainly realize all that has been predicted of this fine country."
Now, may not this sudden usurpation of the Sandwich Islands be a premonitory
symptom — a step in advance to a movement upon Mexico ? Look, for a moment,
at the map of the world. England already has control of the Eastern part of Asia;
is looking toward her possessions of the Hudson Bay Company, and is evidently
excited by our Senatorial harangues on the Oregon Territory. Her rival, Russia,
has encroached on the Californias by a settlement at Bodega, and is known to
have attempted to procure the cession of an upland tract in the Hawaiian Islands,
under the pretence of a desire " for soil to cultivate wheat." France has the
Marquesas. We are prosecuting our claims on the North Western Territory.
England requires a central rendezvous for her fleets in the Pacific, and she seizes
the Sandwich Islands. They are in the direct line of trade from the West Coast
to China. Mexico owes Great Britain an enormous debt which she is unable to
pay. A project is on foot to cross the Isthmus of Panama by a railway or canal.
Steam navigation has already been introduced into the Pacific, and we all know
how rapidly the facilities were advanced within a few years to reach India through
the Red Sea.
Now I confess to you, that, combining all these circumstances — the value of the
Islands and the Main, the greediness of England, the manner in which she is
pushing her Empire all over the world — I cannot but see danger in the sudden
attempted seizure of the Hawaiian group, and think it time that the statesmen of
our country should take a decided stand in the politics of this hemisphere.
I think I have shown the importance of these Islands to our commerce, and the
value of the Californias, both as a country of vast natural resources, and as a terri
tory which, in the hands of a European Power, would become a central point,
whence it might powerfully influence the future destinies of this Continent.
"The Pacific Coast of Spanish America," says the author I have already
quoted, " is, in uninterrupted extent, equal to the whole coast of the Old World
from the Naze of Norway to the Cape de Verd in Africa. What reflections must
this give rise to, when we consider that this line of coast comprehends Denmark,
Germany, Holland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy,
the countries around the Mediterranean, and part of Africa 1 And certainly the
American shores are bounded by countries, naturally more rich than all these
ancient and powerful countries united."
It seems, then, that the true wisdom of our Government should be directed
toward the preservation of this immense territory intact, and under the growing
influence of Republican systems. A wrong step in statesmanship in our day and
generation, may involve us in all the foreign difficulties and questions of the
"balance of power," and affect the fate of our hemisphere for centuries to come.
But, under any circumstances, let it be our care to keep sacred the soil of our

APPENDIX.

367

immediate neighbor in the hour of her weakness, and to protect the Islands that
have been founded and raised to national dignity and importance, by American
zeal and American enterprise. It is our pecuniary and our political interest to
do so.

THE ENCROACHMENTS OF ENGLAND.

No one who has been in the least attentive to the diplomatic negotiations of our
country, can fail to know, that the question of total political separation between
this Continent and Europe, is one of no recent date.
When the revolutions of the Southern Republics were in some degree quieted,
and it became evident, after the battle of Ayacucho, that the dominion of Spain
must cease entirely over her American colonies, the Government of the United
States hastened to interfere, by her ministers abroad, in behalf of the independence
of the revolted provinces. It did so, in order to prevent the useless effusion of
blood, and to produce a pacification of this hemisphere, under which the commer
cial interests of our Union might be fostered, and the people of the newly emanci
pated regions take their place among the enlightened nations of the world. In
these negotiations with the European powers, both Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay
produced some of the ablest state papers that adorn the archives of our Depart
ment ; and it would be well to refer to them, at the present period, when the
encroachments of England, on the flimsiest pretexts, are again beginning to be
visible all over the world, while she is extending her sway, not only for the
peaceful purposes of her commerce, but for empire and territory. The foundation
of the exclusive system of our country, has been laid " in principles of morals and
politics new and distasteful to the thrones and dominations of the Old World ;" and
they are now, most probably, seeking with slow and secret advance, to regain, by
gradual and unheeded progress, what the political ferments of Europe, at an earlier
period, forced them to abandon.
In the summer of 1825, a large French fleet visited the American seas and the
coast of the United States. The purpose of this armament was unknown. But
the watchful statesmen of those days regarded a visit of that character with jealous
eyes ; and the Minister of the United States at the Court of Paris was immediately
directed by Mr. Clay, to infornTthe Cabinet to which he was accredited, that any
such movements, made in time of peace, ought hereafter to be notified to us.
Mr. Brown was instructed, at the same time, to call the attention of the French
Government to the condition of the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico ; and it was
distinctly intimated, that inasmuch as we were altogether contented with the
present ownership of these possessions, "we could not consent to their occupation
by another European power than Spain, under any contingency whatever." A sim
ilar communication was made about the same time to Mr. Canning ; and it is known
that these frank and amicable representations were heedfully respected by the
Governments both of England and France. The real purposes of the French
fleet of 1825 are still utterly unknown ; but the idea that its object was the occu
pation of Cuba and Porto Rico gained considerable ground, from the current rumor
of the day, the weakness of Spain, the revolted condition of her provinces, the
intimate alliance between that monarchy and France, and "the disproportionate
extent of the armament to any ordinary purposes of peaceful commerce."

368 APPENDIX.
It is also known, from the interviews between Mr. Middleton and Count Nessel-
rode, at St. Peterburg, in August, 1825, that the Russian Cabinet had resolved to
discountenance every enterprise against these Islands, and thus maintain the only
state of things " that could preserve a just balance of power in the Antilles."

President Monroe, in his message to Congress in 1823, most distinctly lays
down his ideas of the true policy of the United States in regard to this Continent.
" The citizens of the United States," said he, " cherish sentiments the most
friendly in favor of the liberty and happiness of their fellow men on that (the Euro
pean) side of the Atlantic. In the wars of the European Powers, in matters rela
ting to themselves, we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our
policy so to do. It is only when our rights are invaded, or seriously menaced,
that we resent injuries or make preparation for our defence. With the movements
in this hemisphere, we are of necessity more immediately connected, and by causes
which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial observers. The political
system of the Allied Powers, is essentially different in this respect from that of
America. This difference proceeds from that which exists in their respective
Governments. And to the defence of our own, which has been achieved by the
loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most en
lightened citizens, and under which we have enjoyed unexampled felicity, this
whole nation is devoted. We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to the amicable
relations subsisting between the United States and those Powers, to declare, that
we should consider any attempt on their part, to extend their system to any por
tion of this hemisphere, as dangerous to our peace and safety.
" With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power, we have
not interfered, and shall not interfere. But with the Governments who have
declared their Independence, and maintained it, and whose independence we have,
on great consideration, and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view
any interposition, for the purposes of oppressing them, or controlling in any other
manner their destiny, by any European Power, in other light than as the manifes
tation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States. In the war between
those new Governments and Spain, we declared our neutrality at the time of their
recognition, and to this we have adhered, and shall continue to adhere, provided
no change shall occur, which, in the judgment of the competent authorities of this
Government, shall make a corresponding change on the part of the United States
indispensable to their security."

In March, 1826, Mr. Adams, then President of the United States, prepared a
very luminous message on the subject of the Panama mission, in which he takes
occasion to give a historical account of our relations with the new Republics, and
to enforce the doctrines so clearly stated by his predecessor. He deemed the
acceptance of an invitation to join in the deliberation of that Congress, as by no
means violating the ancient well established policy of our nation by entangling us
in dangerous alliances, and he resolved that we should concur in no engagements
which would import hostility to Europe, or justly excite resentment in any of her
States. " Our views," says he, " would extend no further than to a mutual pledge
of the parties to the compact, to maintain the principle in application to its own
territory, and to permit no colonial lodgments, or establishments, of European
jurisdiction upon its own soil.

APPENDIX.

369

It will be perceived, therefore, that two Administrations at the commencement
of the national existence of the new Republic, solemnly determined on an unqual
ified political and colonial separation from all European powers. They were
anxious to preserve a state of mutual liberty and independence, and yet it was not
deemed expedient to imitate the example of the Old World, by the formation of an
American Holy Alliance, in defence of our freedom, as Europe had done in de
fence of legitimacy and allegiance. It, nevertheless, would seem, that as the
great head of the Powers of this Continent, it becomes us now to persist in the
policy wisely adopted near twenty years ago ; and to be warned, in time, of every
symptom of approaching danger.
If England extends her power, by gradual advances, from the Balize into Gua
temala, (now under Indian rule,) and then into Yucatan, (now in revolt,) she will
hold the key of both Americas, by controlling the passage across the Isthmus to
the Pacific. If she pushes her claims on Mexico, and grasps the Californias ;
retains her hold on China, the mouth of the Columbia and Canada ; — and, while
she continues the possession of the Bermudas, sweeps our Eastern coast by
armed war-steamers, masked under the peaceful disguise of West India Mail
Packets(!) we will shortly find ourselves as comfortably and securely walled in
by British bayonets, as the most loyal of Her Majesty's subjects could well
desire. And yet, all this would be effected by mere supineness on our part, and by
neglect of determined firmness, and intimations similar to those of 1825, in regard
to tlie French fleet, and the occupation of Cuba and Porto Rico. If I am an
swered, that these are dreams and visions of things that may occur, but perhaps
will not in our day and generation ; I reply, by the expression of a hope that the
period of time-serving policy is over in our Union, and that the statesmanship of
America is not hereafter to be confined by a horizon of four years, or, at most
of eight.
If one-half the foresight that is employed in Britain to sustain a population
over-taxed, over-worked, and surrounded by institutions far behind the spirit of
the age, on a territory of small dimensions, were infused, especially, into the for
eign relations of our own country, with its vast domain and happy people, the germ
of a thousand ills would be destroyed for the future. If we begin right in our
national career, we shall not.be forced to remedy an accumulation of political
errors by subsequent legislation, or, like England, to resort to unnatural stimu
lants and predatory wars for the purpose of infusing artificial life into a decrepit
Empire.

In connection with the subject of our trade and interests in the Pacific, and the,
proposed junction of the Atlantic and that Ocean by a Canal across the Isthmus
of Panama, I take the liberty to insert a very valuable note from Mr. Forbes's
"California," relative to Steam Navigation in that Sea
EXTRACT OF A LETTER TO THE EDITOR ON THE SUBJECT OF STEAM NAVIGATION IN
THE PACIFIC, FROM A GENTLEMAN FORMERLY RESIDENT IN ONE OF THE MEXICAN
PORTS ON THE PACIFIC. London, Dec. 20, 1838.
I have taken some pains tc make myself acquainted with the grounds on which
the "Pacific Steam Navigation Company " is founded, with its proceedings as far
24

370 APPENDIX.
as they have gone, and its prospects as far as I can comprehend them. Of this
you may rest assured : that it has already received the patronage of the leading
merchants trading to the Pacific ; several of them having subscribed with the ex
pressed object of forwarding an undertaking fraught with so many public benefits,
while others have entered more largely into it, with the view of participating in
the great profit which it promises as an investment. The general result given in
the 34th page of Mr. Wheelwright's pamphlet, showing 466,950 dollars as the
amount of annual receipts on four steamers, costing from 400,000 to 450,000 dol
lars, and against the same only 236,630 dollars of annual expenditure, whereby
the company will realize an annual profit of 230,320 dollars, or (at 48d. exchange)
£46,064, is so extraordinarily large, that my first impression was to look upon
the project as one hatched by parties connected with our Stock Exchange ; but
on turning to schedules A. and C, I not only found that the above results were
verified by a committee of British merchants residing in Lima, and presided over
by Her Majesty's Consul for Peru, but that a note was added, giving reasons to
hope for still larger profits, under economical arrangements in the management
of the items of expenditure.
It appears that this plan, speculative though it seems, dates its rise from the
circular officially issued by Her Majesty's Consul General for Peru, dated Lima,
18th June, 1826, directed to British merchants and residents generally, requesting
their attention to dispatches from Her Majesty's Government, promising facilities
to carry it into effect, and requesting their' active cooperation. No undertaking,
therefore, could originate under more respectable auspices ; and from inquiries I
have made, I have no hesitation in stating that the gentlemen who have taken it
up in London are of the utmost respectability, and influenced by the most honor
able motives.
The Author of " California " has not expressed himself in favor of the extension
of this proposed line, from Panama to the Northern Pacific, further than as the
reader may construe his remarks in pages 315 to 320. But I feel confident, after
viewing the success of steam in the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea, in the Mediter
ranean, and backward and forward to England, at all seasons of tlie year ; and,
above all, in so many safe and expeditious voyages across the Atlantic, that the
day is not far distant, when either the directors of the present Pacific Steam
Navigation Company, or some new Company, will take up the Northern line.
The numerous population along the Western coasts of Central America and
Mexico, and the rich products of the adjoining provinces in gold, silver, pearls,
cochineal, and indigo, ought to afford profitable employment for steamers as far
up as the Gulf of California at least ; and were emigration ever turning its tide
to California, in the way suggested by the author, whether under the direction
of Her Majesty's Government, or of a public company, the aid of steam could not
fail to be required.
Under the strongest presentiment that these ideas will not lie many years in
operative, I have made calculations of the distances from Panama to the principal
northern ports ; which I here subjoin, as not without importance in tlie present
inquiry. These calculations do not pretend to be exact to a mile, or to an hour;
but they are sufficiently so for our purpose. Nine miles are allowed per hour.
The distances from Panama to San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco, Bodega,
and Columbia river are given in two ways ; first, by the lise of coast, via Mazatlan,
and second, from Panama direct.

APPENDIX.

371

IABLE OF DISTANCES AND HOURS STEAMING FROM PANAMA TO THE FOLLOWING POUTS, VIZ :
From Panama to the Gulf of Nicoya,  435' 4g"
« the Gulf of Papagayo,  59O 65.30
Realejo  680 75-30

Sonsonate,

•847 94

YztaPa  937 104
Socunusco, - ..... 1095 121.30
Tehuantepec,  1210 134.30
Acapulco, -  I495 166
Navidad, . . ... 18io 201
San Bias, - . . . . 1962 218
Mazatlan, - . 2091 239
Guaymas, . . 2448 272
Rio Gila, where it joins the Colorado, - 2793 310

San Diego, j £a M

direct from Panama, 2760 306.30

Monterev \ via Mazatlan - - 3376 375
Monterey, ^ directj _ _ _ 3120 ^^
San Francisco > ™ Mazatlan - - 3456 384
can rrancisco, ^ direc{j 3200 355 3Q
" Russian Settlement at Port Bodega, )^aM,lan|^ ^90.30
" " the British Settlement at J via Mazatlan - 4034 448
Columbia River, ) direct, 3570 385.30
" " Behring's Straits, via Columbia River, - 5970 663
" " Woahoo, Sandwich Islands, 4620 513
" " St. Peter and St. Paul, Kamschatka, via Woahoo, 7380 820
" " Jedo, in Japan, via Woahoo, 7950 883
" " Canton, via Woahoo, - - - 9540 1060
In the above table, the distance to Behring's Straits and the ports that follow,
is given to satisfy the reader's curiosity, and not with a view to any practical
utility, in the way of Steam Navigation, unless greatly improved and cheapened.
It is not impossible that chemists may discover some new power, equal to steam,
and producible at less expense, or that our engineers may invent some mechanical
mode of propulsion for vessels, rendering the Isthmus of Panama the most direct
and expeditious route, not only to these ports, but to Manila and the whole
Eastern Archipelago.
It will be seen from this table, that the British settlement* on the Columbia
river might be reached from Panama, by steam, in nineteen days, or say about
forty days from England. By the same route, the important port of San Francisco
might be reached in sixteen days from Panama, or thirty-six from England ; and
the Russsian settlement at La Bodega, in about six hours longer time. What a
change in our communications, when the nearest Russian settlement on the west
coast of America, will be brought within thirty-six days and six hours steaming,
from our own shores ; when even St. Peter and St. Paul, in Kamschatka, will be
within fifty days, steaming ; Jedo, within fifty-seven ; Canton, within sixty-four,
and Woahoo, in the Sandwich Islands, within forty-two days! Such are the
wonderful results, that sooner or later may be expected from. the mere power of
steam, (improved and cheapened, as it may be, by fresh discoveries,) and the re
sumption of the old line of communication between Europe and the Pacific, via
Chagres and Panama.
* I cull it British, believing we have not yet relinguished its Northern hank.
24*

372 APPENDIX.
I here use the word resumption deliberately ; for, from the era of Columbus
(1502) down to 1824, that line was the high road between Spain and her colonies,
along the West coast, not only for Spanish settlers and merchants, but for whole
cargoes of goods and regiments of soldiers. The famous Vasco Nunes de Balbao,
so early as 1513, crossed tlie isthmus, with troops, from his settlement of Santa
Maria del Dari'en, to the Gulf of San Miguel, S. E. of Panama ; and the latter,
eleven years afterward, viz. in 1524, had already become a city of sufficient im
portance to have a governor, and to furnish to Francisco Pizarro, Diego Almagro,
and Fernando Luque, the men, arms, and ships with which they proceeded to the
conquest of Peru. Soon afterward, it became the seat of a Royal " Audiencia,"
and, until the suppression of the Spanish galleons, and the opening of the free
trade, was the grand emporium of all the merchandise from Spain, destined for
the southern coast of New Granada and Peru, and the northern ports of Guate
mala. During the late war of Independence in Peru, several regiments from
Spain were sent up the Chagres to Panama, and from thence, by transports, to
Peru ; and it was by the same course, that Cruz Mourgeon — the last Vice-king
appointed by Spain for New Granada — passed, with his forces, in 1822. The his
tory of the Buccaneers proves that, as early as the days of Queen Elizabeth, our
own piratical countrymen, and other lawless inhabitants of the West Indies, were
quite familiar with this route, which they passed and repassed at pleasure ; and
until the trade with the Pacific, by Cape Horn, became open to our own merchants,
they supplied the wants of the Spanish colonists on the Pacific coasts, through
Jamaica, by the same channel. It is therefore clear, that in resuming that old
line of communication, without the aid of either Railroad or Canal, (though doubt
less either of these would greatly facilitate the transport of passengers and goods,)
the Pacific Steam Navigation Company makes no new or dangerous experiment.
A British merchant, then sailing on board the vessel whose course is given in the
map attached to the present work, so recently as 1824, took on board in Panama
and carried to San Bias, a thousand bales of goods, bought and packed in Jamaica,
and which had been conveyed across the isthmus, by the way indicated. The
expenses on each bale placed in Panama were seven dollars three rials, and con
sisted of the following items, viz. : Dolls. Rials.
Freight on each bale from Jamaica to Chagres, --.20
Agency at Chagres, -- - ...04
Freight per canoe from Chagres to Cruces, .... 1 5
Duty of Deposite in Cruces, ..... 0 4
Agency, .... ... - 0 2
Mule-hire from Cruces to Panama (7 leagues), ... 2 4

In all, ... 7 3
on each bale of about 150 lbs. weight. The canoes on the Chagres are large
enough to take eighty of these bales at once ; have " Toldos," (a kind of awning,
made of cane and palm leaves, impervious to the sun and rain,) are quite safe, and
managed, with great adroitness, by negro watermen remarkable for their size and
strength. It would require some nicety of calculation, to enable me to institute an exact
comparison between these charges, and those on the same goods carried round by
Cape Horn. I am inclined to think, that on goods outward the latter would be
tlie cheapest route ; but, on lace, fine linens, silks, and jewelry, the additional ex
pense could not be sensibly felt ; and where the object is to be first in a market ;
in the time of war, to save risk ; and at all times, to save interest of money, the

APPENDIX. 373
Panama and Chagres route-even as it was in 1824, and is now-must be the
preferable one, both as regards the above description of goods outward, and bullion
specie, cochineal, and indigo homeward.
Besides the seven dollars three rials above mentioned, I may state that, in 1824
the transit duties levied in Panama were three dollars two rials on each bale • but
by a late decree of the government of New Granada, all the transit duties have
been abolished, so that, perhaps, at this moment, the whole charges may not exceed
six dollars per bale, from Jamaica to Panama. I latelv conversed with an intelli
gent Havana merchant, D. R. Clarke, Esq., now in London, who has been six
voyages from Jamaica (backward and forward) to Panama : he never incurred the
smallest loss or risk either from the river, the road, the natives, or the climate ;
but to avoid delay, he thinks that a tram railroad,* either from the junction of the
Trinidad with the Chagres to Panama, or from Portobello to Panama, would be
of great use, easily made, and cheaply supported. Perhaps the former would be
preferable, on account of the dangerous fevers which prevail in Portobello, but not
on the Chagres.
The above remarks are made, presuming that Her Majesty's government estab
lishes a line of steamers through the West Indies as far as to Chagres, and that
the Pacific Steam Navigation Company take the passengers and goods up at Pa
nama, in the Pacific, carrying them thence, on their way south and north, without
delay ; for the reader will find that a vessel (a fast-sailing schooner, of the class
known under the designation of " Clipper ") took thirty-two days in sailing from
Panama to San Bias, a voyage which, by a steamer proceeding direct, might be
accomplished in nine days. A dull sailing vessel would have taken perhaps sixty
days, or more, to perform the same voyage, from the extreme difficulty of sailing
out to the westward from Panama Bay, in consequence of calms, alternating with
squalls from all directions, and the struggle she would have to maintain, in pro
ceeding along the coasts of Central America and Mexico, against opposing winds
and currents. The same " clipper " (though to go eleven and eleven-and-a-half
knots per hour, was not unusual with her,) took twelve days on her voyage from
Valparaiso, in sailing from the Equator to Panama. I mention these apparently
uninteresting minutiiE, to establish the important facts, that even were such a
canal made as the author of " California " recommends, without steamers ready
at Panama (as the Pacific Steam Navigation Company proposes to have them,)
to carry on, at once, goods and passengers northward and southward, little advan
tage would be gained, as regards ports to the southward of Payta, or northward
of Manzanillo, on the coast of Mexico. The saving of time would not be very
great, and the expense, allowing for tolls on ihe canal, would, I fear, not be much
less, than by the voyage round Cape Horn.
I do not think that steamers from Panama northward, would pay the owners
farther than San Bias or Mazatlan : were, indeed, the tide of emigration setting
strongly to California or the settlements on the Columbia River, occasional trips
might be made so far, profitably ; but as for Woahoo, Jedo, Canton, and other
places named in the calculations above given, steamers from Panama to them will
never pay, until in the progress of discovery, the expenses of steamers are brought
down more nearly to a level with those of sailing' vessels. If ever this desirable
event be realized, the ideas here thrown out will assume a practical importance ;
and it will behoove Great Britain, as queen of the sea, to maintain by steam the
same naval character which she has earned by canvas. The Isthmus of Panama
will then become a point of very great importance.
* I mean a road with rails, where the carriages and wagons are dragged by horses and mules, both of which
abound and are cheap in the isthmus.

374 APPENDIX.
The author of " California " hints the possibility that the Isthmus might be
ceded to some European State : if it ever should be so ceded, the nation hold
ing it will acquire an immense influence and power over the communications of
the world, (supposing the above improvements in steam,) with a territory well-
wooded, well-watered, fertile in the extreme, rich in gold and pearl fisheries, ca
pable of supporting a numerous population, and not, by any means, generally
unhealthy ; while the inhabitants will acquire that wealth and prosperity, which
the advantages of their situation secure to them. But even allowing — as is most
probable — that New Granada will continue to retain its sovereignty over the
Isthmus, there is nothing in the history or character of that Republic which can
justify our fears that it will not religiously maintain its stipulations in favor of the
route across to Panama. Of all the South American Republics, New Granada has
shown the greatest respect to public faith ; and the Hurtados, the Arossamenas,
the Gomezes, the Quezadas, the Paredeses, and other respectable inhabitants of
Panama, are too much alive to the continuance and improvement of the old over
land intercourse, whereby their city has flourished, not to protest against any inju
rious imposts, or prejudicial interference. I believe that hitherto, no passenger nor
merchant travelling across to Panama, can justly complain of any outrage, either
to his person or property, from either the local authorities, or from individuals.
They are all aware, that nothing short of the resumption of the old line of com
munication between Europe and the Pacific, can restore their former prosperity,
and develop the latent resources of their beautiful country ; and they are prepared
to make every exertion to secure so desirable an object.
Had the line of steamers above suggested been now in operation, it is obvious
that the present French blockade of the Atlantic ports of Mexico could have been
counteracted, by sending the cargoes of vessels warned off, to Chagres, across to
Panama, and thence to the Mexican ports of the Pacific.
In conclusion, I may state, that I understand proposals for Steam Navigation on
the Atlantic ports have been submitted to the Mexican government, by a firm of
great standing in that country and in London, and that a favorable answer is ex
pected by the first packet.

PANAMA AND THE PACIFIC. A MEMORANDUM SENT TO THE FOREIGN OFFICE, ON THE
ADVANTAGE OF USING THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA AS A MORE RAPID MEANS OF COM
MUNICATION BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE PORTS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. BY THE
HON. P. CAMPBELL SCARLETT.
In passing within the last few months down the coast of South America, on the
Pacific side, from Valparaiso, through Lima, to Payta, in the neighborhood of
Guayaquil, and to Panama, and from thence to the Atlantic Ocean across the
Isthmus of Darien, I had occasion to observe the truth of representations fre
quently made to me by British merchants in those settlements : how much shorter
and more certain might be the communication of intelligence from those places
to England by that route, than by the passage round Cape Horn. That passage
in merchant vessels to and from England direct, averages
For Valparaiso, - - - 10o'
" Lima>  110
" Guayaquil  120

APPENDIX.

375

a length of time, which is not only inconvenient for commercial objects, but which
in some degree cuts off the British settler from correspondence with his friends
and family, and unnecessarily prolongs the period of receiving such intelligence
as the British Consuls in those quarters may find it expedient to convey to the
Government Whereas the passage by Panama might, with ease, be effected in
the following periods :
From Valparaiso, . . . g2 '
" Lima,  -51
" Guayaquil  - - 46
as the following details will show :
From Valparaiso to Lima, - . - - 11
" Lima to Payta or Guayaquil, . . 5
" Payta to Panama, - - - 10
Across the Isthmus, - - . - 1
Thence to England, touching at one of the Windward Islands 35
Making in the whole, . 62*
Taking Lima as a central position, by this calculation, it appears that the differ
ence of time in conveying correspondence from the western coast of South America
to England, may be thus stated : Days.
From Lima by Cape Horn, .... . 110
" " Panama, .... 51
Difference of time in favor of the route by the West Indies, 59
The passage from Panama to Chagres is perfectly easy, being only twenty-one
miles by land, and the remainder by a river, safe and navigable for boats and ca
noes. This was the route by which the several towns and provinces on the
Pacific Ocean made their communications with Europe, before the separation of
the Colonies from Spain ; but the frequent revolutions which have taken place in
South America, and the consequent poverty and want of enterprise in the Spanish
part of the population, seem to have put a stop to the regular and periodical com
munications between these places, which were formerly established by public
authority.

The following table demonstrates that a vessel, sailing from England, and
doubting the Cape of Good Hope, has to sail as follows :
I. 1st, for Ceylon, - 10,760 miles (geographical.)
2nd, for Calcutta, - 12,770 "
3rd, for Port Jackson, - 16,950 "
4th, for Canton, ... 16,700 " without touching at the Indies.
5th, for Panama, - - - 24,140 "
II. That the same sailing from England, and doubling Cape Horn, will be :
1st, for Valparaiso, - 10,840 miles.
15,716 "
23,156 "
26,616 "
20,840 "

2nd, for Panama, -
3rd, for Canton, -
4th, for Ceylon,
5th, for Port Jackson,

* This is unnecessarily long. The journey, by way of the Isthmus, has been accomplished rrora Lima to
Liverpool in 46 days.

376

APPENDIX.

III. That the same vessel, sailing from England, and passing through the canal
at the Isthmus of Darien, will have to sail only :

1st, from Europe

to Panama, ....

4,171 miles.

2nd,

Canton, .....

11,612 "

3rd,

Valparaiso, .....

9,048 "

4th, "

Port Jackson, and Hobart-town,

11,530 "

5th, «

Ceylon, -
COMPARATIVE TABLE.

15,072 "

By Cape of Good Hope. By Cape Horn.

By Panama Canal.

To Ceylon, -

10,760 26,616

15,072

To Port Jackson,

16,650 10,840

11,536

To Canton, -

20,970 (touching at Calcutta.)

<c

16,700 23,156

11,612

To Panama, -

24,140 15,716

4,171

To Valparaiso,

25,950 10,840

9,048

To Lima,

26,200 12,936

6,952

I. Distances, in a right line, of the principal stopping-places for steamships,
departing from Falmouth, by the Cape of Good Hope, in India, Sumatra, China,
Australasia, Islands of Owhayi and Otaheite, and upon the Western Coast of
America :

Geographical
From
To
miles.
Total.
Falmouth
Canary Isles,
-
1,860
Canary Isles
Cape Verd,
.
840
Cape Verd
Ascension Isles, -
.
1,210
Ascension Isles -
St. Helena,
.
720
St. Helena
Cape of Good Hope,
.
1,740—
-6,400
Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Aiquilles,
.
720
Cape of Aiquilles
Isle of France
.
1,820
Isle of France
Ceylon, ...
1,820
Ceylon
Bombay, ...
.
960
Ceylon
Madras,
750
Madras
Calcutta,
_
1,260—
-7,330
Ceylon
Batavia, ...
-
1,680
Batavia
Swan River (coast of Australasia) 1,630
Swan River
Hobart-town (Van Dieman's
Land) 2,160
Hobart-iown
Port Jackson,
.
720
-6,190
Port Jackson
Sandwich Islands,
.
3,600
Port Jackson
Society Islands, Otaheite,
FROM ENGLAND TO CANTON.
3,104—
Geographical
-6,704
From
To
miles.
Total.
Falmouth
Batavia,
15,410
Batavia
Canton, ...
1,780—
-17,190
Canton
Owhayi,
_
3,960
Owhayi
Panama, -
3,480—
-24,630
From which we see that, by doubling the Cape of Good Hope, they sail from-
lst, Falmouth to Calcutta,  13,730
2nd, Falmouth to Canton, - ... 17,190
3rd, Canton to Panama,  7;440  38,360
APPENDIX,

377

II. Distances, in a right line, of the principal stopping-places, for steamships
¦ding from Falmouth by way of Cape Horn, for Panama, Australasia, Canton,

From

To

Geographica miles.
Total
Falmouth
Terceira, (Azores)
.
.
1,620
Terceira
-
Olinda (Pernambuco)
_
.
2,520
Olinda
-
Rio Janeiro,
.
1,460
Rio Janeiro
-
Buenos Ayres
.
1,400
Buenos Ayres
-
Cape Horn, -
.
_
2,040—
—9,040
Cape Horn -
-
Valparaiso, -
.
_
2,200
Valparaiso .
-
Lima, -
_
.
2,096
Lima
-
Panama,
.
.
2,780—
—7,076
Falmouth -
-
Panama,
_
.
16,116
Panama
-
Owhayi,
.
3,480
Owhayi
-
Canton,
.
.
3,960—
—7,440
Falmouth
-
Canton,
.
23,556
Canton
-
Batavia,
.
1,780
Batavia
.
Ceylon,
.
.
1,680
Falmouth
-
Ceylon,
-
-
27,016
Distances by the projected Canal at Panama :
Geographical
From
To
miles.
Total.
Falmouth
-
Terceira,
.
1,620
Terceira
-
Chagres,
-
-
3,540
Chagres
-
Panama, across
the Isthmus of
Darien,
-
-
-
12—
—5,172
Panama
-
Owhayi,
-
-
.
3,480
Owhayi
-
Canton,
-
-
3,960-
—7,440
Falmouth
-
Canton,
.
-
-
12,612
Falmouth
-
Panama,
.
.
5,172
Panama
.
Lima,
.
.
.
2,780
Lima
-
Valparaiso,
-
-
.
2,096—
-10,048
Panama
-
Otaheite,
-
-
-
3,540
Otaheite
.
Port Jackson,
-
.
.
3,104
Port Jackson
-
Hobart-town,
-
-
-
720—
—7,364
Falmouth, -
Hobart-town,
-
-
17,412
This communication might be very easily effected by the addition of a few small
fast-sailing vessels of war, or steamers, which should make periodical visits to the
towns I have mentioned.
The advantages of a direct communication between Panama and the West
Indies, has already been felt and obtained by the practice of the admiral on the
West India station, who is accustomed to dispatch a sailing vessel of war, at stated
periods, to Chagres, in order to bring official and other correspondence, as well as
specie, from the Pacific coast of South America.
I am the more induced to make these representations, from a conversation I had
with Commodore Mason, in which he expressed his concern, that he had not ade
quate force under his control to give protection to British commerce on the South
American shore of the Pacific, and his confidence in the opinion, which has been
much confirmed by my own observation, as well as by the report of others, more
competent than myself, that such commerce has a tendency to increase if duly
protected ; and that, if vessels of war were more frequently enabled to visit the
378 APPENDIX.
ports on the coast from Valparaiso to Panama, better security would be afforded
to British merchants against the revolutions, to which the property of all'persons
resident on those shores is so often exposed, from the feebleness of the Govern
ments, and the successive changes which are the consequence of that weakness.
The establishment of steamboats would render the return of correspondence,
against the prevailing southerly winds, of equal rapidity. The trade-winds are
not violent in that sea, and men-of-war, in particular, have generally made the pas
sage down the coast with great dispatch. However, the introduction of Steam
Navigation in the West Indies, having already shown that merchant sailing vessels
are disposed to carry sufficient coal in ballast, for the supply of fuel ; it is equally
obvious that the same facilities might be afforded to carry out coal to the Pacific
coast, until such time as, from its raised value and the increased demand for it,
the inhabitants of those regions may think it worth their while to work the veins
of coal, which are well known to exist at various places on the western coast.*
London, Sept. 6, 1835. * South America and Pacific. Lond, 1828. Vol. II. p. 281.

APPENDIX. g7g

No. 2.
Since my return to the United States, I have seen the following interesting
letters in the National Intelligencer, on American Antiquities, from Mr. Colcraft
It is to be hoped that he will shortly favor the public with an accurate drawing
of the characters on the tablet.
T Grave Creek Flats, (Va.) August 23, 1843.
I have devoted several days to the examination of the antiquities of this place
and its vicinity, and find them to be of even more interest than was anticipated.
The most prominent object of curiosity is the great tumulus, of which notices
have appeared in western papers ; but this heavy structure of earth is not isolated.
It is but one of a series of mounds, and other evidences of ancient occupation at
this point, of more than ordinary interest. I have visited and examined seven
mounds, situated within a short distance of each other. They occupy the summit
level of a rich alluvial plain, stretching on the left or Virginia bank of the Ohio,
between the junction of Big and Little Green Creeks with that stream. They
appear to have been connected by low earthen intrenchments, of which plain
traces are stiU visible on some parts of the commons. They included a well,
stoned up in the usual manner, which is now filled with rubbish.
The summit of this plain is probably seventy-five feet above the present summer
level of the Ohio. It constitutes the second bench or rise of land above the water.
It is on this summit, and on one of the most elevated parts of it, that the great
tumulus stands. It is in the shape of a broad cone, cut off at the apex, where it
is some fifty feet across. This area is quite level, and commands a view of the
entire plain, and of the river above and below, and the west shore of the Ohio in
front. Any public transaction on this area would be visible to multitudes around
it, and it has, in this respect, all the advantages of the Mexican and Yucatanese
teocalli. The circumference of the base has been stated at a little under nine
hundred feet ; its height is sixty-nine feet.
The most interesting object of antiquarian inquiry is a small flat stone, inscribed
with antique alphabetic characters, which was disclosed on the opening of the
large mound. These characters are in the ancient rock alphabet of sixteen right
and acute angled single strokes, used by the Pelasgi and other early Mediterra
nean nations, and which is the parent of the modern Runic as well as the Bardic.
It is now some four or five years since the completion of the excavations, so far
as they have been made, and the discovery of this relic. Several copies of it soon
got abroad, which differed from each other, and, it was supposed, from the original.
This conjecture is true : neither the print published in the Cincinnati Gazette in
1839, nor that in the American Pioneer in 1843, is correct. I have terminated
this uncertainty by taking copies by a scientific process, which does not leave the
lines and figures to the uncertainty of man's pencil.
The existence of this ancient art here could not be admitted, otherwise than as
an insulated fact, without some corroborative evidence in habits and customs,
which it would be reasonable to look for in the existing ruins of ancient occu
pancy. It is thought some such testimony has been found. I rode out yesterday
three miles, back to the range of high hills which encompass this sub-valley, to
see a rude tower of stone standing on an elevated point, called Parr's point, which
commands a view of the whole plain, and which appears to have been constructed
as a watch-tower, or look-out, from which to descry an approaching enemy. It is

380 APPENDIX.
much dilapidated. About six or seven feet of the work is still entire. It is cir
cular, and composed of rough stones, without mortar, or the mark of a hammer.
A heavy mass of fallen wall lies around, covering an area of some forty feet in
diameter. Two similar points of observation, occupied by dilapidated towers, are
represented to exist, one at the prominent summit of the Ohio and Grave Creek
hills, and another on the promontory on the opposite side of the Ohio, in Belmont
county, Ohio.
It is known to all acquainted with the warlike habits of our Indians, that they
never evinced the foresight to post a regular sentry, and these rude towers may
be regarded as of contemporaneous age with the interment of the inscription.
Several polished tubes of stone have been found in one of the lesser mounds,
the use of which is not very apparent. One of these, now on my table, is twelve
inches long, one and a quarter wide at one end, and one and a half at the other. It
is made of a fine, compact, lead-blue steatite, mottled, and has been constructed by
boring, in the manner of a gun-barrel. This boring has been continued to within
about three-eighths of aninch of the larger end, through which but a small aper
ture is left. If this small aperture be looked through, objects at a distance are
more clearly seen. Whether it had this telescopic use or others, the degree of
art evinced in its construction is far from rude. By inserting a wooden rod and
valve, this tube would be converted into a powerful syphon or syringe.
I have not space to notice one or two additional traits, which serve to awaken
new interest at tliis ancient point of aboriginal and apparently mixed settlement,
and must omit them till my next. Yours, truly,
HENRY R. COLCRAFT.

Grave Creek Flats, August 24.
The great mound, at these flats, was opened as a place of public resort about
four years ago. For this purpose a horizontal gallery to its centre was dug and
bricked up, and provided with a door. The centre was walled round as a rotunda,
of about twenty-five feet diameter, and a shaft was sunk from the top to intersect
it ; it was in these two excavations that the skeletons and accompanying relics and
ornaments were found. All those articles are arranged for exhibition in this
rotunda, which is lighted up with candles. The lowermost skeleton is almost
entire, and in a good state of preservation, and is put up by means of wires, on the
walls. It has been overstretched in the process, so as to measure six feet; it
should be about five feet eight inches. It exhibits a noble frame of the human
species, bearing a skull with craniological developments of a highly favorable
character. The face bones are elongated, with a long chin and symmetrical jaw,
in which a full and fine set of teeth, above and below, are present. The skeletons
in the upper vault, where the inscription stone was found, are nearly all de
stroyed. It is a damp and gloomy repository, and exhibits in tlie roof and walls of the
rotunda one of the most extraordinary sepulchral displays which the world affords.
On casting the eye up to the ceiling, and the heads of the pillars supporting it, it
is found to be incrusted, or rather festooned, with a white, soft, flaky mass of
matter, which had exuded from the mound above. This, apparently, animal exu
dation is as white as snow. It hangs in pendent masses and globular drops ; the
surface is covered with large globules of clear water, which in the reflected light
have all the brilliancy of diamonds. These drops of water trickle to the floor, and
occasionally the exuded white matter falls. The wooden pillars are furnished

APPENDIX. g81
with the appearance of capitals, by this substance. That it is the result of a soil
highly charged with particles of matter, arising from the decay or incineration of
human bodies, is the only theory by which we may account for the phenomenon.
Curious and unique it certainly is, and with the faint light of a few candles, it
would not require much imagination to invest the entire rotunda with sylph-like
forms of the sheeted dead.
An old Cherokee chief, who visited this scene recently, with his companions,
on his way to the West, was so excited and indignant at the desecration of the
tumulus, by this display of bones and relics to the gaze of the white race, that he
became furious and unmanageable ; his friends and interpreters had to force him
out, to prevent his assassinating the guide ; and soon after he drowned his senses
in alcohol.
That this spot was a very ancient point of settlement by the hunter race in the
Ohio valley, and that it was inhabited by the present red race of North American
Indians, on the arrival of whites west of the Alleghanies, are both admitted facts ;
nor would the historian and antiquary ever have busied themselves further in the
matter had not the inscribed stone come to light, in the year 1839. I was informed,
yesterday, that another inscription stone had been found, in one of the smaller
mounds on these flats, about five years ago, and have obtained data sufficient as to
its present location to put the Ethnological Society on its trace. If, indeed, these
inscriptions shall lead us to admit that the Continent was visited by Europeans
prior to the era of Columbus, it is a question of very high antiquarian interest to
determine who the visitors were, and what they have actually left on record in
these antique tablets.
I have only time to add a single additional fact. Among the articles found in
this cluster of mounds, the greater part are commonplace, in our Western mounds
and town-ruins. I have noticed but one which bears the character of that unique
type of architecture, found by Mr. Stephens and Mr. Catherwood, in Central
America and Yucatan. With the valuable monumental standards of comparison
furnished by these gentlemen before me, it is impossible not to recognize, in an
ornamental stone, found in one of the lesser mounds here, a specimen of similar
workmanship. It is in the style of the heavy feather-sculptured ornament of
Yucatan — the material being a wax yellow sand-stone, darkened by time. I have
taken such notes and drawings of the objects above referred to, as will enable me,
I trust, in due time, to give a connected account of them to our incipient society.
Yours truly,
HENRY R. COLCRAFT.
I have been favored with a fac-simile of this stone, by Mr. Bartlett, the learned
and indefatigable Secretary of our Ethnological Society, who, in his letter com
municating the drawings, observes :
" I must state a curious fact in regard to the characters on this Tablet. I have
compared them with the old alphabets of Europe, and find they assimilate strongly
with the letters of the old Phoenician and Anglo-Saxon. Many of the characters
may be found in the ancient Greek, Etruscan, Phoenician, Cimbric or Welsh,
Celt-Iberic, Anglo-Saxon, &c. In the Celt-Iberic they predominate, as almost
every character is to be found in that ancient alphabet. I have racked my brain
not a little in trying to decipher them, and, though their value is easily ascer
tained, they cannot be combined so as to be rendered into anything intelligible.
It is probable that we have not a correct fac-simile ; but this will now be remedied,
as Mr. Colcraft will take an impression in wax of the whole tablet."

382 APPENDIX,

No. 3.

Since this volume went to press, I have been favored with the following very
instructive letter, from Horatio Hale, Esq., the learned philologist who accom
panied the Exploring Expedition, under the command of Captain Wilkes.
It is pleasant, when groping backward through the labyrinth of time, to have,
now and then, some tangled threads of the lost clue thrown into our hands ;
and I have no doubt that, when the result of this eminent scholar's labors are
placed before the public, they will obtain for him a reputation commensurate with
his genius and industry. " Philadelphia, October, 1843.
" My dear Sir :
"It gives me pleasure to learn, that you are still occupied with your work
on Mexico, which has been long expected with great interest. There are few
countries, so far as I could judge, which contain more that is worthy of being
described ; and fewer still, of which so little is accurately known.
" As to the inquiries contained in your letter, I am happy to find that we have
arrived, by different roads, at the same conclusion, with regard to the origin of the
Mexican Tribes, and the direction in which their migration took place. The results
of such researches as I have been able to make into the languages of the western
coast of America, though not of a positive nature, seem to me strongly to favor
the views which you seem to entertain, of the progress of the emigrant tribes from
their probable crossing-place at Behring's Straits, along the coast — or rather, be
tween the coast and the Rocky Mountains — to the Mexican plateau.
" Very soon after commencing my investigations in Oregon, I was struck by two
facts of considerable importance. First ; that the numbers of distinct families of
languages, or independent races, was greater than was to be found, in so small a
space, in any part of the known world ; and, secondly ; that, in several cases, the
different tribes, or subdivisions of a family, were dispersed at great distances from
each other, and surrounded by several tribes speaking distinct languages. I ob
served, that these scattered bands were generally disposed in a line from north to
south. It seemed, therefore, not an unreasonable supposition, that if the numer
ous hordes which have, at different periods, overrun the Mexican plains, proceeded
in this direction, they may have left along their track, from time to time, detached
parties, which, from some motive of discontent, would separate from the main body,
and allow it to proceed without them. This would account, both for the number of
small tribes speaking distinct languages, and for the manner in which those speak
ing the same language, are dispersed through tlie region.
"As an example, I may mention tlie Athabascan family or race, which occupies
the northern part of our Continent, next to the Esquimaux, and which has been
found on our northwest coast, within a hundred miles of Behring's Straits. The
Carrier Indians, who live north of the Oregon Territory, in about 55° latitude,
belong to this family. Five hundred miles south of these, not far to the north of
the Columbia, I found a small tribe whose language showed them to have had the
same origin with tlie Carriers. Still farther south, on the other bank of the Co-
I umbia, and separated from the last-mentioned by the Chinook tribe, was another

APPENDIX. 383
detached band of the same affinity; and a hundred miles north of these, on the
Umqua river, was the tribe from which it derives its name, speaking also a cog
nate language. Here is a single chain, reaching from about latitude 65° to 43o
or more than half-way from Behring's Straits to the City of Mexico. It may
perhaps, hereafter, be carried still farther, as my researches did not extend much
beyond the last-mentioned point.
"I may also observe, that the Shoshonees, or Snake Indians, are found, first,
on the head waters of the Columbia— ther! near the head of the California Gulf;
and, again— under the dreaded name of Cumanches, pushing their incursions into'
the heart of Texas.
" In the later history of this tribe — the Shoshonees proper— there is a fact worthy
of notice. I was assured by trustworthy persons, long resident in that region,
that the Snake Indians had formerly lived considerably north of the present posi
tion—occupying the territory now in the possession of the powerful Blackfeet
confederacy — who have expelled them from their ancient hunting-grounds ; and,
it was asserted, that there were old men now living among the Shoshonees, who
had a better knowledge of the country, at present occupied by the Blackfeet In
dians, than any of the latter themselves. My informants, (old fur-traders,) gave
it as their belief, that all the tribes in that region were gradually advancing toward
the south. In this instance, the movement of the Blackfeet tribes is not wholly
voluntary, as they are constantly harassed on the north by hostile bands of Crees
and Sioux ; while the Shoshonees, in their southward progress, press before them
the Uchis and Apaches, with whose ravages on the northern borders of Mexico
you are, of course, well acquainted.
" We are familiar with a similar movement on the old Continent, and understand
how it originates in the hardy valor of northern regions, forcing its way toward
a more genial climate and a more beautiful soil. We can also perceive how,
among wandering tribes, like our Western Indians — by nature migratory, and
bound by no ties of cultivation to the land which they occupy — this movement
should be comparatively rapid ; and we can thus see how a large body (like the
Blackfeet nation, for instance,) might, within a few generations, be urged onward,
step by step, from the northern sea to tlie Mexican plains. It has seemed to me
that this fact might be of some importance, as serving to illustrate the history
(given by Humboldt,) which the Aztecs had preserved of their migration, and with
which you must be familiar. I refer more particularly to their gradual progress,
(by stages, as it were,) making long halts from time to time, and again taking up
their line of march toward the south. I have not this account before me now,
but on reading it a few months ago, I thought I could trace in the epithets which
they affixed to their different encampments, (if we may apply this term to their
halting-places,) some of the features of the country west of the Rocky Moun
tains. " It is evident that these deductions would be reduced to certainty, if we could
discover some resemblance between any of the languages of Oregon and those of
Mexico. Thus far, however, the comparison has not been attended with success.
Of the twenty distinct languages, spoken within the limits of Ancient Mexico,
which have been reduced to writing by the Catholic Missionaries, I have been
able to obtain grammars of only five. The collection which you aided me in ma
king in Mexico, is, indeed, the largest that I know of in this country. In Europe,
hov/ever, all that has been published on these subjects, and many valuable manu
scripts, are preserved ; and, at some future day, an opportunity may offer of com
pleting the comparison."

384

APPENDIX.

No. 4,

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
IN THE CITY OF MEXICO,
FOR ONE TEAK — FROM MARCH 8tH, 1833, TO MARCH 4tH, 1834.

TIME OF OBSERVATIONS.

MEAN OP DAILY HEIGHT OF THE
QUICKSILVER.

MEAN TEMPERATURE.

Month.

Day.

Highest.

Lowest.

Centessimal.

1833.

9 to 10, A. M.

3 to 5, P. M.

of the quicksilver.

of the atmosphere.

March,

8

0.5887

20.58

16.62

29

0.5856
22.04
23.80
April,
20
0.5864
23.50
23.58
4(
26
0.5889
22.50
19.54
May,
7
0.5896
22.41
20.91
et
15
0.5876
23.40
24.45
June,
6
0,5894
24.45
20.57
a
22
0.5871
24.64
23.87
July,
15
0.5909
22.14
20.10
30
0.5889
22.65
23.78
August,
3
0.5898
21.50
18.64
tt
15
0.5875
22.04
22.78
September,
7
0.5891
20.24
18.50
tt
21
0.5866
21.96
24.32
October,
10
0.5902
20.21
17.21
k
18
0.5872
21.55
22.16
November,
7
0.5899
18.37
14.62
tl
21
0.5872
19.43
20.05
December,
8
0.5898
18.12
13.87
tt
11
0.5867
19.34
19.94
1834.
January,
2
0.5907
17.48
13.24
tt
23
0.5875
19.32
20.62
February,
4
0.5906
18.37
15.08
a
15
0.5873
19.61
20.79
March,
1
0.5902
20.17
16.65
a
4
0.5878
21.62
22.75
MEAN
0.58983
0.58711
21.06
19.92
APPENDIX

No. 5.

LIST OF PRICES,
OF RENTS, PROVISIONS, ETC., TO HOUSEKEEPERS IN THE CITY OF MEXICO.

Beef, Mutton
Hams,Ducks,Turkeys, Fowls,Pigeons,

124 cents per 20 oz.
12J " 18 "
50 " lb.
37J " pair.
50 " each.
50 " "
25 " pair.

Peseao-blanco, from the lake, 62 J cents per
lb.

VEGETABLES, TEA, COFFEE, ETC.

Onions,Artichokes,Cauliflowers,Cabbages,Peas,Corn,
¦ Barley, $ 3
Rice, Radishes,
Potatoes, Beans (frigoles)
Chile' peppers,
Tomatoes,Bread,

124 cents per dozen.
25 124 " each (small)
12J to 25 cents each.
25 cents per pint.
$5 to $6 per carga of 400 lbs.

124 cents per lb.
64
12*
124314 124 ei

24 dozen.
" quart.
c( '<
lb.
" dozen.
cents for four small

loaves, 16 ounces in all.

Biscuits,
Chocolate, Tea,
Coffee, Sugar (refined)
Sugar (white)

Pines,Chirimoyas,
Peaches,

6i cents per 16 oz.
50 " lb.
$2 to $3 per lb.
25 to 374 cents per lb.
18} cents per lb.
124 " "

FKUITS.
124 cents each.
ei to 124 cents each.
6} cents for four.
25

Oranges,
Plantains, Grapes,
Walnuts, Melons,Avocates,
Apples, Tunas,
Lemons, Guyavas,Granaditas,

Milk,
Pulque^Water, Aguardiente, Mescal,
Chicha, Orgeat,
Agua de chia,

Charcoal,

Cook,Coachman, Waiter,Housekeeper, Chambermaid,Scullion,

ei " six.
64 " four.
25 " lb.
64 " forty.
ei to 124 cents each.
6 i cents for four.

124 6i64 64

dozen.

eight. four.

64 cents per quart.

64 64
18}
25 64
64 64

three quarts
barrel.
quart. tt
three pints.
quart.

FUEL.
64 cents for six lbs.

$4 to $6 per month.
15 to 20
15 8 to 10
3 to 4
3 to 4

They vary according to situation, but
they are very high throughout the Capital ;
$500— $2500 ; and even higher rates are
given for the very best.

INDEX

PAGE.
Alameda.  44
Arriems  18
Aguador  43
Alameda of Mexico  45
Agave Americana  76
Ancient vase from Tula  107—108
Compared  108
Armor of Alvarado  108
Ancient Mexican sacrifices  120
Ancient Mexican calendar  126
Ancient arms and armor  135
Armas de Agua  163
An Alcalde  191
Alcalde's secretary  193
Acaclanca  204
A country Beauty  204
A caravaggio scene  204
Ayotla  205
Aztuk words  216
Ancient remains on this Continent  237
Ancient remains in the United States  237
Ancient caves  240
Ancient paintings in caverns  239
Antiquities  84
Altars  92
Alvarado's armor  108
Ancient pyramids  264
Archbishop's palace  265
Arbol Mainta  266
Accordada  288
Academy of Arts  271
Aneient Mexican priests  115
Aqueducts, Spanish  283
American Antiquities, letter on  370
Barranca Secca  19
Beggars  55—80
Butchers  54
Beggar boy, story of the  >  57
Bullfight  58
Reflections on  61 — 62
Barrancas  178—179
Broad seal in Mexico  192
Burial of Santa Anna's leg  207
of Vivanco  228
Bloody scenes during the Revolution  230
Beautiful residen ce  235
BullSancho  236
Botanic garden  266
Base of Teoyaomiqui  114
Bath of Montezuma  233—234
Builders of ancient cities  254
Bustamanta, elected President  340
Coffee of Perote  15~ 19
Cholula, Town of.  32
Casa Municipal  40
Canals  &
Chenampas  42
Climate of Mexico  46
Court ceremonies  ™ "1
Cock-fighting  7°
Calvariobail  -™
Commission of A Ivarado  108
Crosses found in Mexico, &c  113
Colleges of antiquity  US
.¦Common sacrifice  ^

PAGE*
City of Mexico, as it was at the Conquest  131
Cortez's description of.  131
Splendor of.  131— 13G
Conquest of the Capital and destruction of.  137
Chapultepec  JSG
Cruz del Marques  169
Cigarritos (form of)  169
Cuemavaca  171
Hotel at  171
Church at  172
Casa Municipal  172
Situation of.  172
Climate of.  172
Old Convent of  173
Scenery of.  172
Chasms on plains  179
Cocoyotla  189
Comparison of Indians and Negroes  202
Cuautla  203
Valley of.  204
Cortina, collection of.  272
Cacahuawamilpa, cave of.  192
Cuautla deAmilpas  198—203
Contador, the  235
Commerce of the United States and Mexico  310
Cotton factories  313
Crops, value of.  314
Custom House returns for 1841  318
Church, wealth and influence of the  326
Conventual establishments, number and property of.329
Cortez, sketch of.  332
Conquest of Mexico, rharacter of those who aided
in the  333
Calleja, inhumanity of.  335
Coaches and mules, Mexican  284
Character of the Mexicans  292
Commerce and manufactures of Mexico  305
Custom House, products of the  _ .305
Central Government  339
Constitution of the  339
Constitution of the Republic  341
Church property, distribution of.  351
California, Lower  362
Pearl fishery of.  362
California, Upper  362
Missions in  362
Description of.  362
Prod uctions of  363
Trade with  364
Diligences  3
Desierto, the  158
Duck-shooting in Mexico  219
Domestic altars  92
Del Barrios  175
Doctor Morton's opinion of the American Indians. .260
Evangelistas  39
Equipages  46
Egerton's murder  157
Earthquakes  214
Excursion to Tezcoco  217
Executions, mode of.  272
Egyptian hieroglyphics  259
Expenses of the government, civil list  322
Army and Navy  324
Education, estimate of.  301

388

INDEX.

PAGE.
Exports from the Republic  80K
Exports and Imports, comparative estimate of.  306
England, encroachments of.  357
Policy and foresight of.  369
Frugality of the Mexicans  17
Friars and Priests  44
Fire worship  ,  129
Feasts of human flesh- ....,.....,.,...,  122
Features of the Tierra Caliente.  169
Funereal rites  ,  227
Fossil .bones  ,  .  231—232
Indian superstition in regard to  231
Funeral vase. ....i. ......  101
Fandango  177
Federal Government  ,  337
Constitution of the...,  337
First Congress of the  337
French fleet in the American seas  367
Girl with reboso  47
Gran Sociedad  48
Gambling  77
Gladiatorial sacrifice  123
Gladiatorial Stone  123
Good Friday  155
Garden at Cuemavaca  ,  172
Grove of the Contador  ,  235
God of Silence  ,  86
Grooves on hatchets  98
GJass factories  315
Government negotiations, character of the  321
Guanajuato,, butchery of the inhabitants of the  335
Geographical position of Mexico  295
G uerrero elected President  338
Overthrow and execution of.  .338
Housekeeping  48
Huitzilopotchtli  112
House of Mirrors  ,  118
Human sacrifices  ,121
Mode of  121
Number of victims  125
Hayden's murder  141
Holy week ceremonials  152
Horseback journies  162
Hill of Flowers  180
Housekeeping of a Ranchero  190
Hacienda of St. Inez  202
Hospitality of do  202
Hoochietipec  205
Hammocks  gQg
Hard words  216
Hunting bull  ,....235—237
Houses of the Sun and Moon  223
Hidalgo's trick  230
Huejutla  231
History— Sand wich Islands  ,  .358
Hatchets  "* 98
Household gods  "io2
Holy Week  149
Holy Thursday  ""!".'." "...".151
Heretics burned  ' "1^5
Hacienda of Tc misco  Vi
Hand flower  " ' '%&
Haciend a o( San N icholas  " ......... 196
Santa Inez  jgg
Hawaiian Islands, Americans on the  .......SGI
Missionaries on the  361
Iztaccihuatl  m
Indian porters  * 43
Iturbede, autograph of.  '..".....!.]..!....!! 75
Indian sacrament  ,  '."'.*.'."" 112
Women  ' *'l42'

PAGE.
Indian Hotel  137
Shepiherd  t  K37
With panniers  167
Villages  170
Character and Condition  170
Diplomacy  mg
Degradation  201
Slavery  201—202
And Negroes  202
Words  ,216
Hatchets  ;..98
Women and infanta  142
Villages  175
Alcalde  192
Races within the United States  257
Interior of a Rancho  ,  190
Interview with an Indian Alcalde  191
Interior of the pyramids of Teotihuacan  223
lndio Triste  88
Idol worshippers, the  254
Inhabitants of Palenque, &c  261—263
Imports from the United States  310
Iturbede\accession,dethronementand banishment of.336
The return and execution of.  337
Idols found at Tula  275
Figures of unknown Mexican  577—278
Idol found in Oajaca  ,  ,  279
Insurrection of 1841  340
[ts causes  541
Inaccessibility of Mexico  ,  347
Isthmus of Panama, advantages of the  374
Jalapa — Journey to  9
Description of. ... .  15
Beautiful women of.  16
Judases  155
Journey to the Tierra Caliente  159
Journies on horseback  162
Juan Gonzales  204
Litera  7
Las Vigas  19
La Hoya  19
Letter writers  39
Lonja  ,  40
Leperos  41
Laborde  172
Licences  jcq
Lake of Tezcoco  218
Of the valley  218
Qualities of.  218
Lasso  229
The benefits of  183
La Molina  235
Ladies in church  152
Laborde, history of.  ,  172
Garden of.  173
Lakes near the City of Mexico, position and level of.282
Mexican frugality  17
/Soldiers*  10
Fruits  ig
Medal  39
Politeness  50
Lady going to mass  51
Beauty  53
Mythology  109
Heaven  109
Hell  .'.'".".¦.'.'.'llO
Deities   in
Serape  ....1^
Horsemen  1153
Spur  164
Fleas  ay
Hospitality  206
Earthquakes  314
Words  _ 2U3

INDEX.

389

PAGE.
Mexican Bijou  235
Sportsmen  237
Talent for sculpture  83
Lakes, the character of the waters, note. .218
Manuscript,  258
Cosmogony  264
Teocallis  264
Mexico, Road to  33
Valley of.  34
City of.  36
Approach of.  37
Appearance of.  38
View from the Cathedral  38
Cathedral of.  40
Alameda of.  45
Living in  48
Market in Mexico  39
Moonlight of Mexico  46
Monte  78
Montezuma and his Court  133
Style of  134
Miquahuitl  136
Montezuma's presentiments  138
Murder of the Swiss Consul  140
Mairet's murder  140
Murder of Hayden  141
Murder of Mr. Egerton  157
Mules  163
Mountain views  166
Miraculous breakfast  168
Molle de Guagelote  168
Michapas  189
Miguel Benito  190
Mr. Webster in Mexico  191
Modes of sleeping  205
Meztli-Ytzagual  ,  223
Micoatl  223
Measurements of the ruins of Teotibuaonn  223
Montezuma's inkstand  227
Milperos and blackbirds  227
Madame Santa Anna  227
Montezuma's bath  234
Museum  89—90
Marble vases  96—97
Mint  267
Monte Pio  .'  .267
Minena  -268
Miacatlan  186
Musical Indians  197
Mapilca, ruins of.  246
Misantla, ruins of.  230
Milla, ruins of.  251
Manufacturing establishments, value of.  314
Mines, production of the  32»
Mexican Revolution, outline of the  — 335
Origin of the  335
Mexico, inundation of the city  282
Mortality in the Capital  300
Mexican tribes, origin of the  • — 382
Meteorological observations in the city of Mexico.. 384

National Palace 
Negroes and Indians  ^
Nanahuatzin  225
Natividad  231
Nuestra Seiiora de Loreto  153
Native musicians  167
National debt  320
Native family, private life of a  293
Newspapers and Periodicals, statement of.  303
N aturalization laws  349

Orange groves 
Otumba 
Origin of Mexican I Idolatry..

Page.
Puebla, description of.  23
Alameda  ,  24
Cathedral  24
Precious lamp  24
Virgin Mary in  25
Pyramid of Cholula  26
Description of.  26—27
Legend of.  28
Building of.  28
Quetzalcoatl  29
Feathered serpents of.  31—32
Plaza of Mexico  39
Parian  39
Passeo de la Viga  42
President Santa Anna  42
Passeo Nuevo  45
Pulque  76
Priests of Antiquity  118
Population of the mountains  169
Pyramid of Xochicalco  180
Popocatepetl  33—208
Crater of.....  208
Ascent of.  209
Pico del Fraile  212
Measurements of.  215
Geology of.  214
Outline of.  216
Pyramids of San Juan Teotihuacan  222
Plan of the ruins of do  223
Priests of the pyramids of do  225
Perro Mudo  86
Palm Sunday  150
Palace of the Archbishop  265
Of the Government  -265
Prison  -  2BS
Statistics  270
PeEasco, collection of.  272
Primitive village  175
Indians  175
Papantla, pyramid of.  248
Ruins of.  249
Peopling of America  255
Peruvian remains  257
Water vessels  257
Palace of the Incaa  258
Popocatepetl, flora of.  210
ascent of.  208
Political history  333
Population of New Spain in 1793  290
1803  300
1830..-  300
1842  300
Pedraza Gomez elected President  337
Political prospects  346
Panama Mission  368
Pacific Ocean, steam navigation on  300
Peak of Orizaba  1—15—19
Puente Nacional  II
Puente del Rey  11
Plan del Rio  12
Description of.  23
Puerto de San Lazaro  3>7

Quetzalcoatl 
Q,uemada 
Ruins of. .

Peak of Tepiacualca  hX'm
Perote  ^~^

Robbers  14-33
Rebosos  53
Revolution of 1841  76
Rancho de Michapas  189
Rancheros household  190
Remains near the Pyramids of Teotihuacan  224
Revolutionary jugglery  230
Ruins northwest of Chihuahua  239
Revolution  81
Ruins of Xochicalco  18P

390

INDEX.

PAGE.
Revenue and resources  317
Railway, scheme to construct a  283
Recruits, manner of raising  286
Return home  355
Specie imported into the United States from Mexico. 311
Statistics of trade  311
Manufactures  312
Santa Fe Expedition, note  312
Trade  318
Smuggling, extent of.  319
Sinking Fund, creation of the  322
Stamps or Seals  273
Serpents, figures of.  276
Schools and Seminaries  302
Scotch and York Lodges  337
Santa Anna, Minister of War  338
Spanish power subdued by  338
Revolutionary movements of.  338
Elected President  339
Proclaimed Dictator  339
Captured by the Texans  339
Cunning of, note  340
Reelected President  341
Power of.  345
Personal appearance of.  73
Presentation to  72
Autograph of.  75
Dinner with  74
Suggestions as to the mode of the regeneration of
Mexico  352
Shoshones, or Snake Indians  383
San Michael  19
San Martin  33
Salt Lakes  36
Social features  49
San Augustin  76
Festival at  76—77
Sacrificial knife  122
Sacrificial yoke  .,  131
San Cosra6  140
San Augustine de las Cuevas  162
Serape  162
Sombrero  163
Spur  164
Story of Laborde  172
Santa Inez  201
Seiior Vargas  202
Santa Anna's leg  207
Stratagems of a hunter  235
Sculpture  83
Small Idols  91
San Nicolas, Hacienda of.  196
San Inez, do  198
Seiior Vargas  .202
Tortillias  17
The beggar boy (story of)  57
Teoyaomiqui  109—113
Teocalli of Mexfco  118
Temples in the Capital  118
Tradition in relation to the conquest  139
Tacubaya  157
Tierra Caliente..  159
Features of.  1B9
Tetecala  188
Tenango  205
Tezcoco. Lake of.  218
Scenery of.  210
Depth of.  218
Town of.  220
Ancient town  220
Pyramids of.  221
Ancient bricks of.  221
Palace of Montezuma  221
Puente de las Brigantinas  221
Ancient group irum  221

Tonatiuh Ytzagual  223
Tradition of the pyramids of Teotihuacan  225
Tezcosingo  ,  .229
Theatre balls  149
Temisco  174
Tetecala  187
Teocallis  116—117
Teopans  116
Tezcosingo, Hill of.  233
Tusapan, Temple of.  247
Statue and fountain at  248
Tio Ignacio  253
Temple ofPachacamac  -,  .258
Tabella Plicalis  258
Troops, parades and discipline of the  285
Theatres in Mexico. .-,  237
Thieving, impudent and adroit  288
Territory of the Mexican Republic  299
Trade with Tampico, American and Foreign. .308—209
Metamoras  300
Table of distances, and hours steaming from Pana
ma to various parts  371

Use of the Lasso..

Voyage to Vera Cruz  1
Vera Cruz  3
Appearance of town of.  4
Alameda of..;  5
Diseases of.  :  7
Baptisms and burials of.  7
Water-fall at  8
Commerce of the port of.  307
Blockaded by the French  340
Vomito  8
Vergara. Hotel of.  37
Virgin in the Cathedral  ;  41
Virgin of Guadalupe  63
Her festival  63
Her churches  64
Her legends  65
Her picture  67
Her offerings  68
Her sonnet  69
Her indulgences  69
iVitgin of Dolores, festival of.  149
Virgin of Remedios  142—145
Festival of.  145
Legend of.  145
Description of.  148
View from San Augustin  79
Valo of Cuemavaca  169
Village gamblers  204
Viaticum  227
Vases and Cups  93-94-95
From Tula  107
Value of sugar estate  174
Victoria elected President  337
Revolutionary movements against  337
Whipping Indians  201
Wax figures  83
Woollen blankets, manufacture of.  315
Xochicalco  180
Reliefs on  182-183
Examination of.  184
Caverns of.  184
Subterranean vaults  185
Tradition of.  185
Restoration of pyramid  186
Xolotl  2J5
Sun and Moon, origin of.  225

Zopilote, tlie dance of. .

ERRATA.

3 — 11th line from bottom, for ache read suffer.

3— 3rd

et

it

" whom read which.

6— 20th

"

top,

" thirty read thirsty.

6— 8th

a

bottom,

" baggage read luggage.

7— 11th

"

te

" Abcess read Abscess.

7— 16th

it

it

" Diabetis read Diabetes.

7— 3rd

"

top,

" commerce read moisture.

18— 23rd

te

"

" annos read anos.

20— 3rd

"

bottom,

" villainy read vittany.

25— 9th

tt

"

" setts read sets.

25— 2nd

«

"

" or one homeless and read and one homeless or

28— 1st

"

top,

" Auahuac read Anahuac.

73— 14th

ii

bottom,

" that read the.

89— 6 th

ii

it

" was read is.

154— 11th

"

top,

" them read whom.

154— 14th

¦'

a

" the thousand read a thousand.

155— 3rd

it

"

" ever takes a ride read ever rides.

164— 8th

it

bottom,

" in Mexico read of Mexico.

174— 3rd

«

top,

" thatch of cane read palmetto thatch.

175— 12th

"

n

" who read whom.

181— 21st

te

"

" the quarry read a quarry.

207— 2nd

"

it

" forbad read forbade.

207 — 7th and 8th lines from bottom, for to receive it read for its reception.

217 — 18th line from bottom,

for by the Indian read' by Indian.

223— 24th

tt

top,

" over the cultivated read over cultivated.

233— 8th

n

bottom,

" lakes read waters.

YALE UNlVbHSITY LIBRARY

9002 0

544 4657