Chapter VIII: Part I: North American Dominions (4)

The natives massacred some of the settlers at the missionary district of Todos los Santos, at the station of St. Ann. This must have arisen from some oppression, as the Californians, in general, are very submissive and indolent. They are very dexterous at the chase and in fishing; their wigwams are generally two or three together, and the women wear a head dress of rushes, whilst that of their chiefs have feathers; the women have necklaces of little shells in the north, and pearls in the south. The furniture of their hovels consists of a quiver for arrows, two pieces of wood to light their fires, a pipe of clay, a net for seeds, tobacco, a bow and arrows, their lines and hooks for fishing, and a club to kill rabbits. They often pierce the nostril, and wear ornaments in it; seaming their flesh, and painting horribly to inspire their enemies with fear. The women carry all the household goods when they move, and the men the weapons. They have magicians, who act as priests and physicians, and these magi are the great obstacles in the way of converting the natives.

The bay of Monterey is formed by Point Año Nueva on the north, and Point Pinos on the south; it is twenty-four miles wide at its entrance, and six in length to the east; the east shore is low and sandy, and the sea runs into the beach with a tremendous noise, that may be heard three miles off.

The Spanish ships which stay at Monterey, anchor in six fathoms water, at two cables length from the shore, and moor to the beach; ships putting in, keep the south shore aboard, and after doubling the south point, or Fir Point (Point Pinos) which stretches to the north, they see the fort, and drop anchor in ten fathoms behind the point, where they are sheltered from the west winds--the south winds blow here very strong off shore. At full and change of the moon it is high water here at half-past one; the tide rises seven feet.

The whales, a species of finner, are numerous in the bay, and La Perouse says, that they came within half pistol-shot of the ship, and occasioned a disagreeable smell. The coasts of this bay are generally covered with fogs, which render it dangerous to approach, otherwise it is not at all hard to enter. Pelicans frequent the sea at a small distance from land, and are a good sign for seamen, never going more than six leagues from shore; pelicans are very common on the coast of California; where they are called Alcatras by the Spaniards. Late travellers who have visited Port Monterey, say, that a better harbour could not be found for ships coming from the west, and that the soil in its neighbourhood is good, though dry; all sorts of grain succeed very well, and the cattle are very fine. The Manilla ships find this a good harbour to recruit in, when driven to the north by contrary winds.

_THE INTENDANCY OF SONORA._

Is the next subdivision of New Spain which meets our attention in proceeding to the south. It is bounded on the north by the Rio Colorado, on the east by New Biscay, on the west by the great Californian gulf, and on the south by the intendancy of Guadalaxara. Under the title of Sonora, are comprehended the provinces of Pimeria, Sonora, Hiaqui, and Mayo, or Ostimuri, and Cinaloa. The capital of Sonora is Arispe; and its provinces lie from the Colorado River in the north to Culiacan on the south, following the order above mentioned; we shall begin therefore with Pimeria; and the description of climate, soil, &c., of each subdivision, will best explain the general appearance of the whole of Sonora, or as it is called in modern maps, New Navarre.

PIMERIA.

PIMERIA is the most northern district of this extensive division, and is bounded on the north by The Rio Colorado, by New Biscay on the east, by the Californian gulf on the west, and by Sonora on the south.

Pimeria received its name from the Pimas, a tribe of Indians who inhabit this tract of country. It is subdivided into high and low Pimeria, and extends about three hundred miles to the north of Sonora. The climate is cold and moist, and the rains often last a week without intermission in the winter season, and torrents from the mountains during that period descend in all directions.

Pimeria is very little known, being inhabited chiefly by the native tribes, the Spanish colonists frequently deserting it on account of the irruptions of a warlike race of savages, who inhabit the neighbouring country of Apacheria in New Mexico.

The river Colorado is the principal river of the uncolonized country north of Pimeria. This river has been also called Rio Colorado de los Martyres. The course of the Colorado may be computed in a straight line at 200 leagues, or 600 miles, and it is generally from north-east to south-west. It is called Colorado, or coloured, from the water being tinged red by the clay of its banks. This river rises in the Sierra Verde, it is navigable for a considerable distance, and very deep where it is joined by the Rio Gila, which issues from the same mountains in Pimeria, further to the south. This latter river, though broad and large, has no depth, and the country which lies between these streams is a desert of high land, without water or grass. The savages who inhabit the northern side of the Colorado, are termed Cocomaricopas, and are celebrated for their dexterity in swimming the river with a piece of wood in their left hand to support their goods and weapons above the water, and steering with their right, the women carrying their infants on a basket work attached to their bodies. Their side of the river is fertile, and they are an industrious people. The Colorado meets many other rivers which rise in the same chain; the chief of these is the Zaguananas, which rises in those mountains, in about 40° north latitude. There is a large lake near this branch, called Buenara, in 39° north latitude, on the frontier, but of this lake nothing certain is known. The Colorado empties itself by an immense estuary into the northern part of the gulf of California. The Rio Gila is the next river of importance of this country, but both this and the Rio Colorado are north of the actual intendancy of Sonora.

There are several rivers in Pimeria, but so imperfect are the accounts relative to this province, that nothing can be advanced with certainty about them. The Rio Ascension is the chief, on whose banks live a tribe of warlike Indians, named Seris.

Higher Pimeria contains the fort of Ternate and Lower Pimeria, the fort of Buenavista. The province contains much gold in grains, but it is not sought after, owing to many causes, amongst which the incursions of the warlike Indians of the neighbouring country is the principal one.

SONORA.

SONORA is the next province in proceeding southward, but, as in all this part of the New World, its limits are not accurately defined; it is however bounded by Pimeria on the north, the gulf of California and Hiaqui on the west, New Biscay on the east, and Hiaqui on the south. It is about 420 miles in length in a northerly direction, and 380 in breadth, from west to east.

The soil of Sonora is good on the shore of the gulf, and very fertile, but no very extensive forests are found in this province. The climate is good, the air being reckoned very pure; but on the immediate vicinity of the gulf, the air is indeed impregnated with marshy effluvia, and therefore not so conducive to health as in the interior.

The gold and silver mines of Sonora are very numerous, the mines of gold being in the greatest proportion, and in which the chief value of the province consists.

The trade of Sonora consists in the exchange of its natural productions with Mexico, both by land and by means of the gulf of California, as also with New Mexico and New Biscay. Sonora will in all probability become in time a very valuable province, its natural advantages being great.

Sonora is in the diocese of the bishop of Durango.

This country is famed for an excellent breed of horses, for its fine cheeses, and for its cattle, which are superior and numerous. The animals of Sonora are chiefly the deer, the bear, the goat, and an extraordinary species of large lizard, which the natives domesticate, and teach to hunt mice and vermin.

The capital is Arispe, situated near the head of the Hiaqui River, 108° 53ʹ 15ʺ west longitude, and 30° 36ʹ north latitude. This town is celebrated for its hospitality, and for the great quantity of gold used in the table services of the chief families, with a population of 7600 souls.

Sonora is the next town of any importance, its population is 6400.

The principal rivers of Sonora are the Hiaqui or Yaqui, which rises in the Sierra Madre, and falls into the gulf of California, (after watering the district of Hiaqui,) in 28° north latitude, and the Ascension River, which falls into the same gulf in 31°.

HIAQUI, AND MAYO, OR OSTIMURI.

HIAQUI and Mayo are two small districts, situated between Sonora and Cinaloa. The district of Hiaqui is bounded on the north by Sonora, and on the south by Cinaloa, on the west by the Californian gulf, and on the east by the ridge of mountains. Hiaqui is so called from a river of that name, which flows through it from Sonora. It is not a very extensive district, and little is known concerning the climate and productions, though they are nearly the same as those of Sonora.

The Rio Hiaqui is the principal river, a branch of which in the south east, divides that part of Cinaloa which lies on the eastern side of the ridge from Sonora; it also overflows occasionally, and inundates in the rainy seasons part of Sonora and Mayo, rising in a southerly direction in a place called Tauramara, and bending in a north-west course for half its length, it pervades the grand chain of mountains, and then turns off to the south-west, and falls into the Californian gulf, at the village of Huiribis, and forms a good harbour, from which a trade in provisions is carried on to the opposite shore of California. The banks of the Hiaqui are extremely fertile, and produce abundance of maize, beans, pease, and vegetables. The chief town is Riochico, situated fifty leagues north-north-west of Sinaloa.

MAYO is a small district to the south of Hiaqui, and is bounded by that province on the north, on the east by the ridge of mountains, on the south by Sinaloa, and the west by the gulf of California. Of it very little is known with accuracy; it is fertile, aid watered by the river Mayo, from which it receives its name; this river falls into the Californian sea in north latitude 27° 40ʹ.

SINALOA OR CINALOA.

SINALOA is the most southern province which is comprehended under the intendancy of Sonora; it is bounded by the gulf of California on the west, on the east by New Biscay, or the ridge or Cordillera of Topia, also called Tepecouan, and Sierra Madre, on the north by Mayo, and on the south by Culiacan. This country is about 300 miles in length from the south-east to the north-east, and 120 miles broad.

Sinaloa was discovered by Nunez de Guzman in the year 1552. The climate is good, the air being very pure, the land fertile, and producing abundantly grain, cotton, and fruits.

The rivers are numerous, though small, and well stored with fish.

Sinaloa is chiefly inhabited by Indians, though there are numbers of mining stations established; and the province bids very fair to be well colonized. The natives are a warlike race, and were with great difficulty brought to submit to the dominion of the Spaniards. They have caciques or chiefs, whose authority is however very limited, being confined to heading warlike expeditions. It is chiefly by valour displayed in battle, or hunting, that they obtain this distinction; sometimes indeed the interest of a powerful family elevates one of their number to the caciqueship. They are fond of oratory, and if one of their number displays any great ability in this art, universal acclamations decree him their chieftain. These latter instances are however rare. Laws are unknown.

Their weapons are bows, with poisoned arrows, heavy clubs of wood and shields. These people are more industrious than their Californian neighbours in manufacturing coarse cotton stuffs. Many of the tribes subsist entirely by hunting and fishing, and have no regular residences, neither do they till the ground. In the inland parts these tribes are chiefly found subsisting by the chase; on the sea coast they live by their industry, and by the fishery.

Those in the mountainous regions are reckoned to be in the most perfect state of nature of any of the American Indians, relying solely on their skill in the chase, and on the bounty of nature in her produce of roots, fruits, and plants. During the rainy season, they make a large cap of rushes like a pent-house or umbrella, which they wear on their heads to throw off the water, by which means they keep themselves dry for a considerable time. They construct a sort of rude wigwam of branches, to shield themselves from the scorching rays of the summer sun, and in winter they constantly keep large fires, round which they sleep, eat, and drink, with no other canopy than Heaven. The heat in this country exceeds the cold, and they have little other bad weather, than during the rainy months.

There are many gold and silver mines in the mountainous parts of this district, and in one of these called Yecorato, there was found a piece of gold which weighed 16 marks and upwards, the mark being two-thirds of a pound, or eight ounces. This was sent to Spain and deposited in the royal cabinet of Madrid. The chief mining station is Sivirijoa.

The principal town is _Cinaloa_, or _St. Felipey St. Jago_, on the river Cinaloa, in 106° west longitude, and 26° north latitude, 630 miles north-west of Mexico; the stream on which it stands and the Rio del Puerto, form the two principal rivers of this province; they both rise in the Cordillera of Topia, and receiving other streams in their course, enter the southern part of the Californian sea, very near each other, and a little to the northward of Macapule Bay. Cinaloa contains 9500 inhabitants.

The chief place of the whole government of Sonora is the capital.

_Arispe_, which has the forts of Bacuachi and Bavispe on the south and west.

_Hostimuri_, the chief place of Mayo and Hiaqui, has many rich mines in its vicinity, with a council of the mines situated at St. Xavier.

_Los Alamos_ is also another station of note for the mines, between the Mayo and Fuerte rivers, with a population of 7900.

The towns of Sonora Proper, and Ostimuri, are three in number, the villages 46, and the missions 46; of these villages, many are mining stations.

Cinaloa contains four towns, Cinaloa, Montes Claros, with 7900 souls; and El Rosario 5600; with 92 villages, numerous distinct farms and missions, and many important mining stations.

_INTENDANCY OF NEW BISCAY OR DURANGO._

IN quitting Sonora, on the east, we find the province and intendancy of New Biscay or Durango, which is bounded on the north by New Mexico and Indian nations, on the east by a desert country between it and Coaguila, on the west by Sonora, and on the south by Zacatecas and Guadalaxara, or New Gallicia. It is about 100 miles in medial breadth, and 690 in length. The great ridge or Cordillera of Sierra Madre crosses it in its whole length, and the whole country is very mountainous, well watered by small rivers, the climate temperate, the soil fertile, the cattle fine and numerous, and the mountains abounding in ores. This intendancy has a population of 159,000 souls.

The country near New Biscay contains several small marshes, in the islands or firm ground of which the Indians bid defiance to their Spanish neighbours, and are so hostile, that many forts have been built along the country to prevent their incursions.

The capital is _Durango_, which is the farthest town of any consequence north of Mexico; it is situated on a river which empties itself into a lake, (the river is called Durango or Guadiana).

The population of this city amounts to 12,000. It is the see of a bishop, which is very extensive; in his jurisdiction all the western interior provinces, comprehending those on the east shore of the Californian gulf, are included. It was erected in the year 1620. The tithes of this see are said to have amounted in ten years to 1,080,300 dollars.

A branch of the royal treasury of Mexico is established here for collecting the duties on the mines. The climate in the neighbourhood of this city is mild and healthy, and the country fertile, producing corn, maize and fruit, and pasturing fine cattle. It has three churches and four convents, and is 170 leagues from Mexico, and 298 from Santa Fé. Durango is elevated 6845 feet above the level of the sea, and the intendant or governor of the province resides here.

The inhabitants of New Biscay are all whites, there being no Indians amongst them; they are a people of robust constitution and good intellectual qualities.

They live in a state of constant warfare with their neighbours the Indians, particularly with the Cumanches, a very warlike race of people, who bear an inveterate hatred to the Spaniards. A tract of desert country to the west, called the Bolson de Mapimi, is inhabited by the Acoclames, the Cocoyames, the Apaches Mezcleros, and Apaches Fardones. It is from this waste that the natives are principally annoyed by the Indians; in it is a large lake called Cayman, and part of another called Parras.

The Rio Conchos is the largest river of New Biscay, which rises in the Sierra Madre, and after taking a southerly course, suddenly turns to the east, and again to the north, and empties itself into the Rio del Norte, at the Fort de las Juntas. New Biscay has six towns and 199 villages, with innumerable stations and farms.

The towns of New Biscay of the greatest note after Durango, are _Chihuahua_, formerly the residence of the captain-general of all the interior provinces of the upper part of the viceroyalty of New Spain, and now the residence of the captain-general of the western interior provinces, which comprehend New Biscay, New Mexico, Sonora, and the two Californias. The population of Chihuahua is 11,600, and it is surrounded with mining stations, the principal of which is _Santa Rosa de Cosiquiriachi_, where that part of the Sierra Madre, called De los Metales, has valuable and numerous silver mines; this mining station is peopled by 10,700 souls.

_Mapimis_, on the south extremity of the desert of Mapimi, is a military port, with 2700 inhabitants.

_St. Juan del Rio_, south of Lake Parras, 10,200 souls.

_Saltillo_, situated to the west of Monterey, in New Leon, on a barren dry soil; 6000 people.

_Pasquaro_, south of Rio de Nasas; 5600.

_Batopilas_, west of Rio Conchos, 8000, formerly a place of great repute for its mines.

_Parral_ the seat of a council of mines, 5000, and the mining station of _Guirisamey_, 3800.

The population of this government is concentrated entirely in these towns and in the mining stations, as in New Mexico, the warlike Indians rendering this method of living necessary; even the forts are well peopled, as the settlers choose to live under their protection, in preference to possessing large tracts of land at a distance from any defence.

_INTENDANCY OF SAN LUIS POTOSI._

THE intendancy of San Luis Potosi, comprises the provinces of Coaguila, New Leon, Texas, and the colonies of New Santander; and forms the western captain-generalship of the interior provinces.

It is bounded on the north by desart countries, inhabited by tribes of wandering Indians; by the Bolson de Mapimi, an unconquered desart on the west, as well as by part of New Biscay and Zacatecas; on the south by the intendancies of Guanaxuato, Mexico, and Vera Cruz. On the east its limits are not defined; by the Spaniards they are considered to reach to the river Mexicano or Mermento, between the sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth degrees of west longitude, but the American congress deny this being the boundary of Louisiana, and extend their claims as far as the bay of St. Bernardo.

This intendancy is computed to have a population of 334,900 souls.

That part of San Luis Potosi which joins Zacatecas, is a mountainous country; in New Leon the land is not high, consequently the summers are hot and the winters cold; the land on the right, between Coaguila and Louisiana, is represented as containing impervious savannahs and enormous desarts. The nearest post of the Americans to New Spain, is Fort Clayborne, on the Red River. In the greater part of this immense territory of San Luis the climate is good, and the air pure and healthy.

The coast which borders the Mexican gulf, is lined with long narrow islands, between which and the continent, are sheets of water denominated lakes. The mouth of the Rio Panuco, and the bar of New Santander, are the only ports of the coast from which vessels trade with the West Indian Islands in provisions. The whole coast has remained very little explored; such parts as have been surveyed, are found to be shut out by sand bars, which prevent large vessels from passing into the harbours, which are otherwise excellent.

The southern parts contain the mines of Catorce, Guadal-Cazar and Charcas, in the mountain districts.

There is a route which the Americans follow from New Orleans, through this intendancy, to Mexico, for the purposes of traffic, which is represented to require ten weeks to perform it, under great perils and hardships.

The great ridge of Anahuac, or plain of New Spain, gradually descends, and loses itself in this intendancy; and on its slope is situated the capital, _St. Luis Potosi_, where the intendant or governor-general resides; it is a little westward of the source of the Panuco River, and contains a population of 12,000 persons.

COAGUILA.

COAGUILA is a province of St. Luis Potosi, lying to the north of New Leon, and sometimes included in that division; it is also called _New Estremadura_, and in some maps Cuvilla. It is bounded on the north by uncultivated countries, on the east by the provinces of Texas, New Santander, and Leon, on the west by New Biscay, and the Bolson de Mapimi, and on the south by New Biscay. Its extent is 200 leagues from north to south, and 160 from north-west to north-east.

This province is nearly a waste, peopled only by the Indians and some few missions, and if it possesses mineral treasures, they remain to be discovered. The capital is Monclova, situated in the south part, the residence of a military governor. The next town of importance is Castanuela, on the southern borders.

The Rio del Norte pervades this district.

NEW LEON

Is bounded on the north by Coaguila, on the west by Coaguila and New Biscay, on the east by New Santander, on the south by Zacatecas and St. Luis Potosi, or Guasteca. It is a very mountainous country, thinly inhabited and possessing few other mines than those of lead.

The chief town is Monterey, the see of a bishop; there are also several villages and small stations; but although it has been sometimes designated by the high sounding title of the New Kingdom of Leon, it is only a small tract, of which scarcely any thing is known.

NEW SANTANDER AND TEXAS, AND PANUCO, OR POTOSI.

THESE provinces extend for an immense length along the shores of the Mexican gulf, and commencing at the estuary of the river Mexicano follow the course of that river; Coaguila then bounds them on the north, New Leon on the east, Mexico on the south, and the gulf of Mexico on the west. The Rio Bravo del Norte flows through the centre of these provinces.

Numerous herds of cattle feed in this country, which abounds in fruit, corn, &c. A chain of mountains, from the main ridge, runs through New Santander, and is called the Sierra Gorda; from which the district has sometimes been named; this chain abounds in mines. It was not till 1748, that this district or province was wholly subdued, in which year the capital was built. There is a fine harbour attached to it, which was first observed in 1739.

The richest mines are in Panuco or Potosi, and the chief of these is Catorce, or La Purissima Conception; it was discovered in 1773, and is said to yield annually to the amount of from seven to 800,000_l._ sterling of silver. Charcas is the next mining station of note, and is in the north of Panuco or Potosi.

The remaining towns of most importance in the intendancy of San Luis Potosi, are _New Santander_, the capital of the province of that name, with its port of _Soto la Marina_, which however does not admit vessels that draw more water than six feet.

_Linares_, in New Leon, between the Rio del Norte, and the Tigre, and--

_San Antonio de Bejar_, capital of Texas, between the two rivers Nogales and St. Antonio.

The most eastern fort of this intendancy is the Presidio of _Nacogdoch_, which is 68 leagues from the United Statesʼ Fort Clayborne.

The great river of this government is the Rio del Norte, which enters the Mexican gulf in about 25° 40ʹ north latitude, and 97° 20ʹ west longitude. The other rivers of most note are, beginning from the east, the Rio Mexicano, Rio de Sabina, Rio de la Trinidad, Rio Colorado de Texas, Rio St. Antonio, Rio de las Nueces, Rio de Tigre, to the south of the great Rio del Norte, and the Rio Panuco or Tampico; of all of which very little is known.

_INTENDANCY OF ZACATECAS._

THIS intendancy is one of the smallest in New Spain, and is the first of those we are about to describe, which are under the immediate controul of the viceroy.

It is bounded on the north by the intendancy of New Biscay or Durango, on the east by San Luis Potosi, on the west by Guadalaxara, and on the south by Guanaxuato. It is 85 leagues long, and 51 broad in its greatest dimensions.

The population of this province is 153,300.

Zacatecas consists almost entirely of mountain country; so much so, as to have been said greatly to resemble Swisserland. The climate is very variable and inclement, and the soil far from fertile; but all this is compensated by the riches of the mines, which are only inferior to those of Guanaxuato.

Its chief town is _Zacatecas_, where the great mines are situated. The population of this town, is 33,000; it is a bishopʼs see, and is 240 miles north-north-east of Mexico.

The next is _Sombrerete_, the seat of the chief-council of mines; _Fresnillo_, near the latter, both of which are great mining stations. Sombrerete was formerly the richest of the whole, and there are many other mining stations of great importance in this district, most of which are very populous.

_THE INTENDANCY OF GUADALAXARA._

THIS, with Zacatecas, formed New Gallicia, in the former division of New Spain. It is bounded on the north by Sonora, and New Biscay, on the east by Zacatecas and Guanaxuato, on the west, by the Pacific, and on the south, by Valladolid, or Mechoacan; it is 118 leagues long, and 100 broad. This province is of importance, from being the seat of a royal audience, or supreme court, which, as before observed, governs in civil affairs, more than one-half of New Spain. It was established in the year 1548.

Guadalaxara, contains a population of 630,500 souls, and its eastern side is a part of the declivity of the plain of Anahuac; the western side is mountainous, and covered with extensive forests. On the sea coast, the air is hot and unhealthy, but on the heights, pure and wholesome.

The chief productions of this country are wheat, maize, cotton, and cochineal, all of which are produced in very great abundance. Guadalaxara contains two cities, six towns, and 322 villages; there are five mines of silver of great value, the chief of which is Copala.

The great river of this country is the river Santiago, which crosses it from east to west, communicating with Lake Chapala.

The volcano of Colima is the most striking feature in this province, and is the last of those which lie on the same parallel to the west. Its height is near 10,000 feet above the sea, and its crater continually ejects smoke and ashes. This volcano is isolated from the neighbouring chain.

The Rio Santiago, or Rio Grande, is a noble stream, which rises in the Nevada de Toluca, near Mexico, and after traversing the extremity of Valladolid, or Mechoacan, and Guanaxuato, crosses the province of Guadalaxara, first going through the northern extremity of Lake Chapala; it throws itself into the Pacific, at the point of St. Blas; in Valladolid it bears the name of Rio Lerma.

Lake Chapala is a fine sheet of water of this province, much larger than the Mexican lakes, and has some islands in it; it is about ninety miles long, and thirty broad, but its dimensions are not accurately ascertained.

The great towns of Guadalaxara, are _Guadalaxara_, where the governor, the bishop, and the officers of the supreme court of the royal audience reside; its population is 19,500 souls. It is placed on the Rio Esquitlan, or Santiago, which flows from Lake Chapala. At the distance of twelve miles from the town, this Great River has a cataract, and is very rapid. The city stands on a plain, in which there are many rivulets, surrounded by mountains, and covered with oaks and pines. Handsome gardens are seen in all directions, which abound with every sort of fruits. There is in estate belonging to the Marquis of Altamira near it, which sends annually to the markets of Mexico, four thousand head of cattle, with numerous flocks of sheep and swine; it also grows great quantities of pimento, maize, &c., of which it has been computed to yield, to the value of 40,000 dollars per annum.

The extent of the city is very great, and the population consists of Spaniards, mulattoes and mestizoes; the native Indians inhabit the suburbs and villages adjacent. The people are celebrated for industry, and they have excellent artisans amongst them; they are a good looking and well made race. The streets are unpaved, and mules are used for their carriages; this city is subjected to tempests of a very violent nature, but snow never lodges there.

Here there is a manufactory of cigars, and the natives make a sort of jars of a fine scented earth, which are in much request.

They have fine aqueduct, many churches, convents, and two colleges, with eight fine squares.

The revenues of the bishopric amount to 2,579,100 dollars annually.

The jurisdiction of the royal audience has been already mentioned in a former part.

The other towns of most importance are--

_Colima_, six miles south of the volcano of the same name.

_Aguas Calientes_, near the mines of Asiento de Ibarra.

_Compostella_, _Lagos_, and _San Blas_; the latter of which is a noted sea port, where the marine department is stationed.

San Blas is at the mouth of the river Santiago; here there are magazines, dock yards for the royal navy, and in the vicinity, all sorts of necessary timber for constructing ships; but it is so unhealthy a place, that the officers usually reside in a village near it, where the air is better.

_THE INTENDANCY OF GUANAXUATO._

THIS is one of the small but populous provinces of New Spain, and is situated on the great ridge of the Mexican Cordillera. Its length is fifty-two, and breadth thirty-one leagues. The highest land is the mountain De los Llanitos, 9325 feet above the sea.

The value of this province consists chiefly (although great part of it is very fertile) in its mines. They are the richest of North America, and exceed in produce and value that of Potosi in South America, or indeed, any mines in the world.

The population of this province consists of 517,300 souls, of which, 180,000 are Indians.

The cities of Guanaxuato are three in number, with four towns, thirty-seven villages, and numerous settlements.

_Guanaxuato, or Santa Fé_ is the capital; it was founded in 1554. It is surrounded closely by the silver mines, six principal ones of which have been enumerated. The height of Guanaxuato is 6836 feet above the sea; some of the mines have their entrance shafts even higher, the one called _Valenciana_, having its mouth as high as 7856 feet above the level of the ocean.

In the city, and mining villages surrounding it, the population is estimated at 70,600; the other towns of most note are--

_Salamanca_, at the height of 5762 feet, _Silao_ or _Celaya_, which has a very fine church, still higher, and _Villa de Leon_, celebrated for its neighbourhood producing fine maize and corn.

_INTENDANCY OF MEXICO._

THIS province is the most important, though not the most extensive of those which form the viceroyalty of New Spain; its historical relations, its splendid capital, extraordinary and beautiful appearances and situation, give it, independently of its chief place being the metropolis of New Spain, an advantage over the other states of this widely extended region; we shall accordingly enter more at large into its history and description, than what the limits of this work will allow to be allotted to the other provinces.

Mexico is bounded on the north by the intendancy of San Luis Potosi, on the east by the province of Tlascala, or Puebla, and Vera Cruz, on the west by Mechoacan, or Valladolid, and Guanaxuato, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. The government of the royal audience, in the capital, is the richest and most extensive of the three royal audiences established in North America.

Mexico was formerly an empire of no great extent, but numerously peopled, and covered with towns; it was surrounded by several other states, either in alliance with it, or under its dominion. Of these the most noted were the Michuacan, Tlacopan, and the Acolhuacan kingdoms, the Cholollan, Huexotzincan, and Tlaxcallan republics, with several others of inferior note.

The boundaries of the Mexican kingdom were the small state of Quauhtemallan on the south-east; on the east, part of the above states and the Mexican gulf; on the north Huaxtecas, a country inhabited by a tribe of that name; Tlacopan, and a savage tribe, called the Chichemicas, were on the north-west; Michuacan on the west; and on the south and south-west the Pacific. This kingdom was therefore situated between the fourteenth and twenty-first degrees of north latitude, and between the ninety-seventh and the hundred and fifth degrees of west longitude. Of this extent, the most fertile and best cultivated portion was the vale of Anahuac, or of Waters, which embraced a beautiful district, comprised within mountains, the circuit of whose basis occupied 120 miles. From the name of this vale, the whole country received afterwards the appellation of Anahuac, previously to its settlement by the Spaniards, who called it New Spain; which title has since been given to the dominions of Spain, in North America, occupying the whole extent from the northern boundaries, to the kingdom of Guatimala, and often embracing that territory also. In the centre of the vale of Anahuac are the lakes of Tezcuco and Chalco, on whose banks were the cities of Mexico, Acolhuacan, Tlacopan, Tezcuco, and forty others, with innumerable small towns.

Michuacan, the westerly kingdom, had its capital on a lake, called Pascuaro, with four other cities. Tlacopan lay between Mexico and Michuacan, and its capital was Tezcuco, four miles west of Mexico. Acolhuacan, which was very extensive, as well as the most ancient of the kingdoms, had its capital on the eastern shore of Lake Tezcuco, at about fourteen miles from Mexico; this kingdom was powerful, populous, and contained many cities; it was amongst the most civilized of the territories of Anahuac. Tlaxcallan or Tlascala was on the south of Mexico, and the chief of the republics; it was not large, and its capital was situated seventy miles east of Mexico. The republics of Cholollan and Huexotzinco lay to the south of Tlaxcallan.

The origin of the Mexican nations, or the nations of Anahuac is very obscure, but it is supposed that the Toltecas, who inhabited a country to the north of Mexico were the most ancient inhabitants, of whom any trace could be found; and they had a tradition that they came from the north. A tribe of this nation being banished from the country where they dwelt, journeyed to the southward in search of a favourable spot whereon to fix their residence; it is asserted they commenced their migration in the year 596 A.D., but not finding a place which had charms enough to fix them, for any great length of time, they still kept removing to the south for the space of 104 years, when they came to a spot which pleased them. Here they erected a city, fifty miles eastward of the spot where Mexico the capital was afterwards founded. They rested twenty years in this place, when they again removed and settled forty miles farther west, building another city.

They appear to have been an industrious people, well skilled in many arts, and living under the government of their kings in a peaceable manner; but, unfortunately in the year 1052, suffered from a dearth and want of water, which pervaded their land; and a great part of their people died of famine. Those who remained, dispersed themselves into Guatimala, Mexico, &c. For the space of 100 years the Toltecan country was nearly a desert, very few having been left behind; after this interval the Cachemecas, another race from the north arrived, whose manners were not so cultivated, and their way of living more savage than the Toltecans. They established themselves in a place about six miles from the present city of Mexico, and were governed by kings, who encouraged their people to cultivate the friendship of the poor Toltecans who remained; in return for which they instructed them in all the arts they knew. This monarchy lasted till the year 1520, or nearly five centuries; the Toltecan monarchy having endured nearly four. Some other tribes from the north, of which the Acolhuans, and the Otomies were the principal, entered into alliance with the Cachemecas. After them the Tarascas and the Nahuatlacas, also from the north, settled in Anahuac. The Aztecas, or Mexicans, were the last; they came from a country beyond the gulf of California; this is said to have taken place in the year 1160, when they moved southward, and traces of the buildings they left, are said to exist on the banks of the Rio Colorado, and on the Rio Gila, &c. They stopped for some time at a place in New Biscay, about 250 miles north-north-west of Chihuahua, and there raised some large buildings, from which the place is now called Casas Grandes, which signifies large houses, and is in 29° north latitude. This large building is constructed with three floors, and crowned by a terrace; the lower floor has no door, and the upper is accessible only by a ladder, which is still the manner in which the buildings of New Mexico are constructed. This house, or fort, has been surrounded by a wall, seven feet thick, and in which enormous stones were used; the beams of pine are said still to exist. In the centre is a keep or mound; the whole has had a ditch about it, and earthen pots, jars, &c. with mirrors of the itzli stone, have been dug up in the neighbourhood. On leaving this spot, they crossed the mountains of Taraumara, and rested three years at Culiacan.

When the Aztecas left their native country, they consisted of six tribes, viz. the Mexicans, Tepanecas, Chalcese, Tlahuicas, Tlascans, and Xochimilcans. At Culiacan they constructed the image of the deity Huitzilopochtli, with a throne to carry it on the shoulders of four priests. The Mexicans were deserted by the five other tribes on quitting Culiacan, and journeying with their image, arrived at Tula, the capital which the Toltecans had built, erecting altars at all their resting places on the road. They stayed here, and in the vicinity, twenty years; and in 1216 they came to Zumpanco, a large town in the vale of Anahuac; here they were kindly received, and one of their chief women married Ilhuicatl, the son of the chief; from which marriage the race of Mexican emperors descended. They roamed about the borders of the lake Tezcuco, settling in different places, and at last engaged in wars with the Cachemicas and Acolhuans, and were obliged to take refuge in some islands called Acocolo, in the southern part of the Mexican lakes. Here they existed fifty-two years, in great poverty, and were finally enslaved by the chief of a small state called Colhuacan.

A few years after a war commenced between the Xochimilcans, one of the tribes who had separated from the Mexicans at Caliacan, and the Cholhuans, in which the Mexicans assisted their enslavers, and behaved so valorously as to gain their liberty. Their conduct was however stained by the cruelty they committed in the action, by cutting off their prisonersʼ ears, and by a human sacrifice, which they made to their divinity after the battle, which consisted of four of the prisoners whom they had reserved. The chief of the Cholhuans commanded them to quit his territory, being disgusted at their barbarity; they moved therefore to a place near the junction of Lakes Chalco and Tezcuco, which place they named Mexicaltzinco; they removed however from this to Iztacalo, nearer the place where Mexico was soon after built. Here they rejoiced for their victory and subsequent liberation, and remained two years, when wandering about, they discovered on an island, in the lake, a sign which their oracles had declared to be the mark of their future resting place; here they accordingly built some miserable huts of reeds, and having taken a Cholhuan prisoner, sacrificed him to their deity, built an altar, and prepared permanently to fix their residence. To this town and island they gave the name of Tenochtitlan, and afterwards building their huts round the altar of Huitzilopochtli or Mexitli, they gave the town the name of Mexico, or the city of Mexitli, their god of war. This took place in the year 1825.

The situation of their new town, chosen solely from the omen, was as uncomfortable and as ill-placed, as they could have found on a small island, in a lake without ground for cultivation, or much space for building. There they lived long in a very wretched manner, till at last, impelled by necessity, they drove stakes and made dykes to the neighbouring islets; by which means they shut out the water, and connected the islands, so as to gain considerable space from the lake. By industry they attained sufficient quantities of materials from the neighbouring settlements to erect their habitations and furnish themselves with necessaries, and constructed floating gardens on the water, with the mud of the lake and branches of trees, on which they raised vegetables, &c. Struggling with great distress and difficulties, they remained unanimous and constant in their exertions for thirteen years, when an old quarrel was renewed amongst themselves, and they divided into two factions, who separated, one remaining on the spot, the other going to an island in the vicinity, which they named Tlatelolco, and which was afterwards united to the other by mounds. The original town was now divided into four quarters, and in the centre was built the temple of Mexitli.

They remained in great barbarism for some time, and sacrificed a daughter of the king of Cholhuacan, whom they had invited into their town, under a specious pretext; on which the king declared war against them, but they were now as powerful as himself. Their government had been hitherto an aristocracy; the nation obeying a council of their great chieftain. At this era they found that a monarchy was best suited to their views, as well because their neighbours had mostly adopted that form of government, as because their territories consisting only of the city, one person was better able to perform the duties of the kingly office than several. They therefore elected Acampatzin for their king and leader, who was descended from the race above mentioned.

This prince took a daughter of Acolmiztli, king of Coatlican, for his consort; their rival brothers, the Tlatelolcos also chose a king, the son of the king of the Tepanecans, and in consequence of their choosing the son of this prince, who had hitherto received tribute from both parties, they endeavoured to instigate him to make war on the Mexicans; he however, only doubled their tribute, and otherwise oppressed them very much, for fifty years; during thirty-seven of which, Acamapitzin governed Mexico. He took another wife, and had by her a son Huitzilihiutl, and by his concubines several children, of whom Itzcoatl was afterwards one of the most renowned.

Acamapitzin governed Mexico with great success, and in his reign buildings of stone were constructed, and canals for the use and ornament of the place were commenced. He died in the year 1389, and after four months Huitzilihiutl his son, succeeded him by the universal choice of the people. He married a daughter of the king of the Tepanecas, as well as another princess; they each brought him sons, and the son of the latter was the famous Montezuma Ilhuicamina. Huitzilihuitl reigned twenty years, and died in 1409, and was succeeded by his brother Chimalpopoca, who, dying by his own hands in prison, to which he was treacherously conveyed by the king of Acolhuacan, was succeeded by Itzcoatl, the son of Acamapitzin, by a slave. In the mean time they were engaged in many disputes with the neighbouring kings and their rivals the Tlatelolcans, who were as rapidly advancing in power as the Mexicans. The first king of the Tlatelolcans died in 1339.

On the ascension of Itzcoatl to the Mexican throne, who was accounted one of the most prudent of their kings, he built temples, &c. subdued some neighbouring provinces, and concluded an alliance with the exiled prince of Acolhuacan, whose father had been killed, and himself supplanted by a neighbouring king. This prince immediately declared war against the usurper, and took several towns. Itzcoatl sent Montezuma, the son of Huitzilihuitl to congratulate him. He was taken prisoner, but escaped by treachery, and got back to Mexico, when Maxtlaton, the usurping king of Acolhuacan, who had been only king of Tepanecas, declared war against Mexico, on account of the Mexicans joining the exiled prince Nezahualcajotl. This terrified the Mexicans, and they demanded their king to make peace, but Montezuma, by his oratory persuaded them to commence hostilities. Montezuma undertook to carry the defiance, and was assailed in his return by some of the enemy, but got back after killing two or three. After this the exiled prince joined his army to the Mexicans, and a furious battle took place. When night approached, the troops of the enemies still increasing, the Mexicans were discouraged, and began to give way; but Montezuma, and the other chiefs, rushing to the front, redeemed the day. Montezuma took the general of the adversaries with his own hand; the next day the battle was renewed, and the Tepanecans totally defeated, and their city taken.

That nation was afterward totally subdued, and became subjected to Itzcoatl; who, after reducing all the provinces which were refractory, replaced Nezahualcajotl on his throne; in these actions Montezuma manifested his usual address and courage. Itzcoatl gave the Tepanecan country to Totoquihuatzin, with the title of king of Tacuba. These kings then formed a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive. The Xochimilcans, fearing that they might be the next objects of Mexican power, declared war, but were defeated, their capital and strong holds being taken by Montezuma. Thus, after twelve years, Mexico rose from its insignificancy, and became more powerful than all the surrounding states, and was no longer tributary. Itzcoatl died in 1436, at an advanced age, and Montezuma was called to the throne; one of the first acts of his reign was to build an immense temple, and he was no sooner placed on the imperial seat, than he was called to a war between the Chalcese and the Tezcucans; which terminated in the defeat of the former, and in this war he obtained the victims to be sacrificed at his coronation, which was the most splendid they had ever witnessed. The king of Tlatelolco having formed a conspiracy against Itzcoatl, and renewing his designs against Montezuma, he deposed him, and put Moquihuix in his place. Two large provinces were also conquered, and added to the Mexican dominions about this period.

He then engaged in a war with the king of the Mixtacas, the Huexotzincas, and Tlascalans, and after meeting with a reverse, he finally succeeded in defeating them, and again enlarged his dominions. In 1457 he undertook the conquest of Euetlachtlan, and sent Moquihuix, king of the Tlatelolcos to subdue it, but hearing that the Cholulans, the Tlascalans and Huexotzincas had joined the enemy, he ordered his army to return; they however disobeyed his command, conquered the enemy, and dispatched an immense number of them to be immolated in the Mexican temples. This so pleased Montezuma, that he forgave them, and married Moquihuix to one of his own relatives.

The Chalcese, who had again rebelled, were again reduced, and the whole of his reign was occupied in augmenting his dominions; so that at his death, in 1464, his territories reached from the gulf of Mexico nearly to the Pacific.

During the reign of Montezuma, Mexico suffered by an inundation; this happened in 1446, when, after a very long continuance of rain, the lake swelled, and overflowing the city, destroyed many houses; to prevent its recurrence, he constructed a dyke of two parallel rows of stakes, filled in with mud and stones; this dyke was nine miles long, and for the future, prevented that evil in a great measure. Six years after this calamity, the maize harvest failed; and, in 1452, after having suffered more or less, from the same cause, for three years, the people were become so reduced, that many sold themselves for slaves, and Montezuma was obliged to open the granaries, and issue edicts that no woman should sell herself for less than 400 ears of wheat, or any man for less than 500. They existed on fish, and were only restored by a plentiful harvest happening in 1454.

On his demise, he was succeeded by Axaycatl, in 1468; which prince, after a great victory, built an immense temple called Coatlan; this was after conquering the natives of the province of Tecoantepec. The Tlatelolcos, in opposition, built another which they called Coaxolotl. This prince was not so fortunate as Montezuma, for many of the districts he conquered, revolted, and the Tlatelolcos became again the enemies of the Mexicans. In 1469 and 1470, the kings of Acolhuacan and Tacuba died, and thus the league was weakened. The Tlatelolcos now declared war, and the king Moquihuix, who had married a sister of Axayacatl, treated her so ill that she informed her brother of the enterprise, by which means he totally defeated the Tlatelolcos, penetrating, in the commencement of the action, into the market place, where he tore out the heart of Moquihuix, who had been taken prisoner; he then united the city to Mexico, which it has ever since made a part of.

Axayacatl then engaged in war with some other states and was wounded, however, he gained a complete victory over the Matlatzincas, and continued to extend his dominions till his death in 1477. He was succeeded by his brother Tizoc, after reigning thirteen years. Tizoc conquered fourteen cities, and after having collected materials to build a larger temple than any of his ancestors, was poisoned by his subjects. This prince married one of his grand-daughters to the king of the Acolhuacans, who also fell in love with her sister Xocotzin, and married her, by whom he had a son named Cacamatzin, who succeeded his father, and was taken prisoner afterwards by the Spaniards.

Ahuitzotl, the brother of Tizoc, succeeded him in 1482, after he had reigned five years. His first care was to finish the temple begun by Tizoc, which he completed in four years. This king was engaged in several wars, and the human sacrifices he caused to be made at the dedication of the new temple, were so enormous, that they are said to have amounted to upwards of 70,000. Another temple was also dedicated in his reign, at which many unfortunate victims were immolated.