ZACATECAS.ZACATECAS.
swelling knolls, and an occasional group of hills or small mountains. The agricultural productions are of course suitable to such a geological structure; but in theHaciendas de Ganado, or cattle farms, immense herds are constantly raised by the thrifty vaqueros of this region. As the country is unusually dry, water tanks,algibes, andnoriasare established on all the estates, and are watched with the greatest care. There is no river of any note whatever in Zacatécas. The Arroyo de Zacatécas, the Rio Xeres, the Rio Perfido, del Maguey, and Bañuelos, are but slender streams.
Zacatécas is divided into eleven partidos or districts. 1st. Zacatécas, 2d Aguas Calientes, 3d Sombrereté, 4th Tlaltenango, 5th Villa Nueva, 6th Fresnillo, 7th Xeres, 8th Mazapil, 9th Piños, 10th Nieves, and 11th Juchipila; possessing in all 3 cities, 5 market towns, 34 villages and mining works, 139 agricultural and cattle farms, 562 smaller similar establishments, 683 ranchos, 11 convents for monks, 4 for nuns, and four hospitals. The population has been calculated at about 350,000; and it is remarkable that, according to reliable statistical data, 14,937 more individuals were born than died in this State during the year 1830.
The most valuable agricultural district lies in the district of Aguas Calientes. The best cultivation begins at thehaciendaof San Jacinto, 12 leagues from the town of Zacatécas, and in this region it is reckoned that the farmers annually gather from their harvests, 140,952 fanegas of Corn (of 150 lbs.); 4,719 cargas (of 300 lbs.) of wheat; 7,293 fanegas of frijoles or beans, and 4,291 arróbas (of 25 lbs. each,) of chile.
The mainspring of the wealth of Zacatécas is its mineral production. The vein of the Veta Negra of Sombrereté has been the most productive in the new or old world. El Pavellon, La Veta Grande, San Bernabé, and the isolated hill of Proaño at Fresnillo constantly yielded in former times the most extraordinary results for the labor bestowed in working them. Their present value may be estimated from the chapter on Mines in the preceding book.
The chief cities, towns and villages of this State are the capital,Zacatécas, containing from 25,000 to 30,000 inhabitants. It lies in 22° 47´ 19´´ of north latitude and 164° 47´ 41´´ west longitude, at an elevation of 7,976 feet.
The town itself is not visible until the traveller approaches within a mile and a half, when it is seen below following the turns of a deep barranca or ravine, of which the mountain ofla Bufa, with a chapel on its crest, forms one side. The streets are narrow and dirty, and swarm with uncleanly children, whose appearance, like that of their squalid parents, is by no means prepossessing. But the distant view of the city is picturesque from the number of religious edifices which rise above the roofs of the other buildings. In the vicinity of theplazathere are some fine houses, and the market place presents a curious and busy provincial scene.
Aguas Calientesis situated upon the banks of a stream of the same name, in a broad and rich valley, at the distance of 25 leagues south of Zacatécas. The neighborhood is famous for its warm thermal springs; the chief of which, El Baño de la Cantera, lies a league south-west of the town. Aguas Calientes contains several thousand inhabitants and is celebrated for its woollen manufactories, among which the one belonging to the family of Pimentel employed about 350 men and women at its looms.
Fresnillois a mining town, and capital of its district, 14 leagues north-west from Zacatécas, in the wide plain which divides the mountains of Santa Cruz and Organos from the mountain ranges about Zacatécas. It lies at the foot of the isolated knoll of Proaño, in which its mines are situated. The neighborhood of the town is pretty, but the region which intervenes between it and Sombrereté is a waste and sterile moorland.
Sombreretéis a mining town, and capital of its district, 25 leagues north-westward of Fresnillo, lying at the foot of the mountain of Sombreretillo, or "little hat," whose name is derived from a singular formation of rock on its summit which resembles that article of dress. In its vicinity are the once renowned and rich mines of La Veta Negra and El Pavellon.
Upon the table lands between Sombrereté, Fresnillo, and Catorcé, in the State of San Luis, are several towns or villages deserving of notice, and thehaciendaof Sierra Hermosa, a cattle estate, which is one of the most remarkable in the Republic for its extent and production. It covers an area of 262sitiosor square leagues, and supports immense herds of horned cattle, horses, mules, goats and sheep. The latter, alone, are estimated at 200,000 head, about 30,000 of which are annually disposed of. The wool yielded by these animals amounts to from 4,000 to 5,000 arrobas yearly.
The other towns and villages of note areAsientos de Ibarra, Xeres, Villanueva, Mazapil.
RUINS OF QUEMADA.RUINS OF QUEMADA.
The Sierra de Piños, Chalchiguitéc, Los Angelos, Plateros, and other metallic deposits were formerly celebrated for their productive value; but they are now either partially or entirely abandoned.
We may deduce some interesting statistical information from the labors of Berghes in regard to the mineral wealth of Zacatécas and the productiveness of its mines. According to the tables of this writer, published in 1834, it appears that from the year
It will be seen by reference to our table on page 88 of this volume, that the value of the products of Zacatécas in the ten years from 1835 to 1844, was $43,384,215; giving a mean annual rate of $4,338,421, and exhibiting the important fact, in spite of revolutionary troubles and consequent social, commercial and industrial disorganization, that the mineral yield of this region, instead of diminishing, has steadilyincreasedwith every year. In 1845, theMintin Zacatécas issued $4,429,353.
The State of Zacatécas contains some remarkable remains of Indian architecture on theCerro de los Edificios, situated two leagues northerly from the village of Villanueva, twelve leagues south-west from Zacatécas, and about one league north of La Quemada, at an elevation of 7,406 feet above the sea.
"We set out," says Captain Lyon, in a volume of his travels in Mexico, "on our expedition to the Cerro de los Edificios under the guidance of an old ranchero, and soon arrived at the foot of the abrupt and steep rock on which the buildings are situated. Here we perceived two ruined heaps of stones, flanking the entrance to the causeway, ninety-three feet broad, commencing at four hundred feet from the cliff.
"A space of about six acres had been enclosed by a broad wall,the foundations of which are still visible, running first to the south and afterwards to the east. Off its south-western angle stands a high mass of stones which flanks the causeway. In outward appearance it is of a pyramidal form, owing to the quantities of stones piled against it either by design or by its own ruin; but on close examination its figure could be traced by the remains of solid walls to have been a square of thirty-one feet by the same height: the heap immediately opposite is lower and more scattered, but, in all probability, formerly resembled it. Hence the grand causeway runs to the north-east till it reaches the ascent of the cliff, which, as I have already observed, is about four hundred yards distant. Here again are found two masses of ruins, in which may be traced the same construction as that before described; and it is not improbable that these two towers guarded the entrance to the citadel. In the centre of the causeway, which is raised about a foot and has its rough pavement uninjured, is a large heap of stones, as if the remains of some altar, round which we can trace, notwithstanding the accumulation of earth and vegetation, the paved border of flat slabs arranged in the figure of a six rayed star.
"We did not enter the city by the principal road, but led our horses with some difficulty up the steep mass formed by the ruins of a defensive wall, inclosing a quadrangle two hundred and forty feet by two hundred, which to the east, is sheltered by a strong wall of unhewn stones, eight feet in thickness and eighteen in height. A raised terrace of twenty feet in width passes round the northern and eastern sides of this space, and on its south-east corner is yet standing a round pillar of rough stones, of the same height as the wall, and nineteen feet in circumference.
"There appear to have been five other pillars on the east, and four on the northern terrace; and as the vein of the plain which lies to the south and west is very extensive, I am inclined to believe that the square has always been open in these directions. Adjoining to this we entered by the eastern side to another quadrangle, surrounded by perfect walls of the same height and thickness as the former one, and measuring one hundred and thirty-four feet by one hundred and thirty-seven. In this were yet standing fourteen very well constructed pillars, of equal dimensions with that in the adjoining enclosure, and arranged four in length and three in breadth of the quadrangle, from which, on every side, they separated a space of twenty-three feet in width, probably a pavement of a portico of which they once supported the roof. In their construction, as well as that of all the walls which we saw, a common clay having strawmixed with it has been used. Rich grass was growing in the spacious court where Aztec monarchs may once have feasted; and our cattle were so delighted with it that we left them to graze while we walked about three hundred yards to the northward, over a very wide parapet, and reached a perfect, square, flat-topped pyramid of large unhewn stones. It was standing unattached to any other buildings, at the foot of the eastern brow of the mountain which rises abruptly behind it. On the eastern face is a platform of twenty-eight feet in width, faced by a parapet wall of fifteen feet, and from the base of this extends a second platform with a parapet like the former, and one hundred and eighteen feet wide. These form the outer defensive boundary of the mountain, which from its figure has materially favored its construction. There is every reason to believe that this eastern face must have been of great importance. A slightly raised and paved causeway descends across the valley, in the direction of the rising sun, and being continued on the opposite side of a stream which flows through it, can be traced up the mountains at two miles distant, till it terminates at the base of an immense stone edifice which probably may also have been a pyramid. Although a stream (Rio del Partido) runs meandering through the plain from the northward, about midway between the two elevated buildings. I can scarcely imagine that the causeway should have been formed for the purpose of bringing water to the city, which is far more easy of access than in many other directions much nearer to the river, but must have been constructed for important purposes between the two places in question; and it is not improbable once formed the street between the frail huts of the poorer inhabitants. The base of the large pyramid measured fifty feet, and I ascertained by ascending with a line that its height was precisely the same. Its flat top was covered with earth and a little vegetation: and our guide asserted, although he knew not where he obtained the information, that it was once surmounted by a statue. Off the south-east corner of this building, and about fifteen yards distant, is to be seen the edge of a circle of stones about eight feet in diameter, enclosing as far as we could judge by scraping away the soil, a bowl-shaped pit, in which the action of fire was plainly observable; and the earth from which we picked some pieces of pottery, was evidently darkened by an admixture of soot and ashes. At the distance of one hundred yards south-west of the large pyramid is a small one, twelve feet square, and much injured. This is situated on somewhat higher ground, in the steep part of the ascent to the mountain's brow. On its eastern face, which is towards thedeclivity, the height is eighteen feet; and apparently there have been steps by which to ascend to a quadrangular space, having a broad terrace around it, and extending east one hundred feet by a width of fifty. In the centre of this enclosure is another bowl-shaped pit, somewhat wider than the first. Hence we began our ascent to the upper works, over a well buttressed yet ruined wall built of the rock. Its height on the steepest side is twenty-one feet, and the width on the summit, which is level, with an extensive platform, is the same. This is a double wall of ten feet, having been first constructed and then covered with a very smooth kind of cement, after which the second has been built against it. The platform, (which faces to the south, and may, to a certain extent, be considered as a ledge from the cliff,) is eighty-nine feet by seventy-two; and on its northern centre stand the ruins of a square building, having within it an open space of ten feet by eight, and of the same depth. In the middle of the quadrangle is to be seen a mound of stones eight feet high. A little farther on we entered by a broad opening between the perfect and massive walls, to a square of one hundred and fifty feet. This space was surrounded on the south-east and west by an elevated terrace of three feet by twelve in breadth, having in the centre of each side steps by which to descend to the square. Each terrace was backed by a wall of twenty-eight feet by eight or nine. From the south are two broad entrances, and on the east is one of thirty feet, communicating with a perfect enclosed square of one hundred feet, while on the west is one small opening, leading to an artificial cave or dungeon, of which I shall presently speak.
"To the north, the square is bounded by the steep mountain; and, in the centre of that side, stands a pyramid of seven ledges or stages, which in many places are quite perfect. It is flat topped, has four sides, and measures at the base thirty-eight by thirty-five feet, while in height it is nineteen. Immediately behind this, and on all that portion of the hill that presents itself to the square, are numerous tiers of seats either broken in the rock or built of rough stones. In the centre of the square, and due south of the pyramid, is a small quadrangular building, seven feet by five in height. The summit is imperfect, but has unquestionably been an altar; and from the whole character of the space in which it stands, the peculiar form of the pyramid, the surrounding terrace, and the seats or steps on the mountain, there can be little doubt that this has been the grand Hall of Sacrifice or Assembly, or perhaps both.
"Passing to the westward, we next saw some narrow enclosed spaces, apparently portions of an aqueduct leading from some tankson the summit of the mountain, and then we were shown to the mouth of the cave, or subterraneous passage, of which so many suspicious stories are yet told and believed. One of the principal objects of our expedition had been to enter this place, which none of the natives had ever ventured to do, and we came provided with torches accordingly: unfortunately however, the mouth had very recently fallen in, and we could merely see that it was a narrow, well built entrance, bearing in many places the remains of good smooth plastering. A large beam of cedar once supported the roof, but its removal by the country people had caused the dilapidation which we now observed. Mr. Sindal, in knocking out some pieces of regularly burnt brick, soon brought a ruin upon his head, but escaped without injury; and this accident caused a thick cloud of yellow dust to fall, which, on issuing from the cave, assumed a bright appearance under the full glare of the sun;—an effect not lost on the natives, who became more than ever persuaded that an immense treasure lay hidden in that mysterious place. The general opinion of those who remember the excavation is that it is very deep; and from many circumstances there is a probability of its having been a place of confinement for victims. Its vicinity to the great hall, in which there can be little doubt that the sanguinary rites were held, is one argument in favor of this supposition; but there is another equally forcible;—its immediate proximity to a cliff of about one hundred and fifty feet, down which the bodies of victims may have been precipitated, as was the custom at the inhuman sacrifices of the Aztecs.[67]A road or causeway to be noticed in another place, terminates at the foot of the precipice, exactly beneath the cave and over-hanging rock, and conjecture can form no other idea of its intended utility, unless as being in some manner connected with the dungeon.
"Hence we ascend to a variety of buildings, all constructed with the same regard to strength, and inclosing spaces on far too large a scale for the abode of common people. On the extreme ridge of the mountain were several tolerably perfect tanks.
"In a subsequent visit to this extraordinary place, I saw some buildings which had at first escaped my notice. These were situated on the summit of a rock terminating the ridge, and about a mile and a half north north-west of the citadel.
"The first is a building originally eighteen feet square, but havingthe addition of sloping walls to give it a pyramidal form. It is flat topped, and on the centre of its southern face there appears to have been steps to ascend to its summit. The second is a square altar, its height and base being each about sixteen feet. These buildings are surrounded at no great distance by a strong wall, and at a quarter of a mile to the northward, advantage is taken of a precipice to construct another wall of twelve feet in width from its brink. On a small flat space between this and the pyramid are the remains of an open square edifice, to the southward of which are two long mounds of stone, each extending about thirty feet; and to the north-east is another ruin, having large steps up its side. I should conceive the highest wall of the citadel to be three hundred feet above the plain, and the base rock surmounts it by about thirty feet more.
"The whole place in fact, from its isolated situation, the disposition of its defensive walls, and the favorable figure of the rock must have been impregnable to Indians; and even European troops would have found great difficulty in ascending those works which we have ventured to name the Citadel. There is no doubt that the greater mass of the nation who once dwelt here must have been established on the plain beneath, since from the summit of the rock we could distinctly trace three straight and very extensive causeways diverging from that over which we first passed. The most remarkable of these roads runs south-west for two miles, is forty-six feet in width, and crossing the grand causeway is continued to the foot of the cliff immediately beneath the cave which I have described. Its more distant extreme is terminated by a high and long artificial mound immediately beyond the river toward the hacienda of La Quemada. We could trace the second road south and south-west to a small rancho named Cayotl, about four miles distant, and the third ran south-west by south still farther, ceasing, as the country people informed us, at a mountain six miles distant. All these roads have been slightly raised, were paved with rough stones, still visible in many places above the grass, and were perfectly straight.
"From the flatness of the fine plain over which they extended, I cannot conceive them to have been constructed as paths, since the people who walked barefoot and used no beasts of burden, must naturally have preferred the smooth earthen foot-ways which presented themselves on every side, to these roughly paved roads. If this be admitted, it is not difficult to suppose that they were the centres of streets whose huts constructed of the same kind of frail materials as those of the present day, must long since have disappeared. Many places on the plain are thickly strewn with stoneswhich may once have formed materials for the town; and around the cattle farms there are extensive modern walls which, not improbably, were constructed from the nearest street. At all events, whatever end these causeways answered, the citadel itself still remains, and by its size and strength confirms the accounts given by Cortéz, Bernal Diaz, and others of the conquerors of the magnitude and strength of the Mexican edifices, but which have been doubted by Robertson, De Pau, and others. We observed also in some sheltered places, the remains of good plaster, confirming the accounts above alluded to; and there can be little doubt that the present rough, yet magnificent buildings were once encased in wood, as ancient Mexico, the towns of Yucatan, Tabasco, and many other places are described to have been in the voyage of Juan De Grijalvis in 1518, and also in the writings of Diaz, Cortéz and Clavigero.
"The Cerro de Edificios and the mountains of the surrounding range, are all of gray porphyry, easily fractured into slabs, and this, with comparatively little labor, has furnished materials for the edifices which crown its summit. We saw no remains of obsidian among the ruins or on the plain—which is remarkable, as it is the general substance of which the knives and arrow-heads of the Mexicans were formed; but a few pieces of very compact porphyry were lying about and some appeared to have been chipped into a rude resemblance of arrow-heads.
"Not a trace of the ancient name of this interesting place, or that of the nation which inhabited it, is now to be found among the neighboring people, who merely distinguished the isolated rock and buildings by one common name, 'Los Edificios.' I had inquired of the best instructed people about these ruins; but all my researches were unavailing until I fortunately met with a note in the Abbé Clavigero's history of Mexico which appears to throw some light on the subject. 'The situation of Chico-moztoc, where the Mexicans sojourned nine years is not known, but it appears to be that place, twenty miles distant from Zacatécas, towards the south, where there are still some remains of an immense edifice, which, according to the tradition of the ancient inhabitants of that district was the work of the Aztecs during their migration; and it certainly cannot be ascribed to any other people, the Zacatecanos themselves being so barbarous as neither to live in houses nor to know how to build them.'"
STATE OF SAN LUIS POTOSI—BOUNDARIES—LAKES—RIVERS—CLIMATE—DEPARTMENTS—PRODUCTS—SAN LUIS—TOWNS—MINING REGION.—NEW LEON—BOUNDARIES—CHARACTER —RIVERS—CLIMATE—DEPARTMENTS—AGRICULTURE—GRAZING, ETC.—MONTEREY.—COAHUILA—BOUNDARY—POSITION —CLIMATE—PRODUCTIONS—TOWNS.—STATE OF DURANGO—BOUNDARY—CHARACTER—DIVISIONS—STREAMS—PRODUCTIONS —CITY OF DURANGO—TOWNS—MINES—IRON—SILVER—INDIAN NECROLOGY—CAVE BURIAL.
STATE OF SAN LUIS POTOSI—BOUNDARIES—LAKES—RIVERS—CLIMATE—DEPARTMENTS—PRODUCTS—SAN LUIS—TOWNS—MINING REGION.—NEW LEON—BOUNDARIES—CHARACTER —RIVERS—CLIMATE—DEPARTMENTS—AGRICULTURE—GRAZING, ETC.—MONTEREY.—COAHUILA—BOUNDARY—POSITION —CLIMATE—PRODUCTIONS—TOWNS.—STATE OF DURANGO—BOUNDARY—CHARACTER—DIVISIONS—STREAMS—PRODUCTIONS —CITY OF DURANGO—TOWNS—MINES—IRON—SILVER—INDIAN NECROLOGY—CAVE BURIAL.
CITY OF SAN LUIS POTOSI.CITY OF SAN LUIS POTOSI.
The State of San Luis Potosi is bounded on the east by the State of Tamaulipas; on the north by Nuevo Leon; on the west by Zacatécas; on the south by Guanajuato and Querétaro, and on the south-east by Vera Crux. The western portion of the State is quite mountainous; but towards Tamaulipas, the Cordillera is somewhatbroken, and a lower hilly country stretches out towards the south-east. The Panuco and the Santander are the only two rivers, and the lagunes of Chariel and Chila the only two lakes of importance in the State.
The climate of the mountain region and table lands is cold, while that of the lower elevations and flats towards the eastern boundary is much warmer, and, at certain seasons, very unhealthy.
The State of San Luis Potosi is divided into four departments, ten cantons, and fifty-two municipalities, with a population of over 300,000.
1st. Department ofSan Luiswith the cantons San Luis, Santa Maria del Rio and Guadalcazar.
2d. Department ofRio Verde, with the cantons of Rio Verde and del Maiz.
3d. Department ofTancanhuitz, with the cantons of Tancanhuitz and De Valles.
4th. Department ofVenado, with the cantons of Venado, Catorcé and Ojocaliente.
The agriculturists of San Luis are engaged chiefly in the production of corn, wheat, barley and fodder; all of which are yielded plentifully by the genial soil of the State. But the toils of the farmer and the generosity of the ground are not always repaid by suitable prices or a good market. Corn ranges from fifty cents to seventy-five the fanega; and even at this rate often lacks purchasers. Cattle are raised in large quantities, as in Zacatécas, Durango and Chihuahua. Manufactures are progressive. Woollen and cotton fabrics are produced of excellent quality and favor among the masses. Glass, leather, pottery and metallic wares are also made in large quantities, and a busy traffic in foreign goods is carried on with the port of Tampico, and the States of Zacatécas, Durango, Sonora, New Leon, Guanajuato, Mechoacan and Jalisco. The position of this State, and especially of its principal town, naturally makes it anentrepôtbetween the coast and the interior, for imports from America and Europe. Nevertheless, a small trade, only, exists in home products, and these are chiefly sent to New Leon and Coahuila.
The chief towns areSan Luis Potosi, the capital of the State and seat of government, lying on a level plain, among the steep declivities of the Cordillera in the neighborhood of the sources of the Panuco, in 22° 4´ 58´´ north latitude, 103° 7´ west longitude from Paris, 5,959 feet above the sea. It is a regular, well built city, with broad, paved streets, a fineplazaor public square, andsix handsome churches, three convents, and one hospital. Its population may be estimated at 35,000.
Guadalcazar, is the capital of thepartidoor district of that name, 18 leagues north-west of San Luis Potosi, in 22° 31´ 25´´ north latitude and 102° 59´ 30´´ west longitude from Paris, 5,132 feet above the sea, in a valley south of a mountain group which was once extremely productive in mineral riches.
Rio Verdeis the capital of the Department of Rio Verde, 34 leagues east of San Luis. The town ofValles, with 3,500 inhabitants, lies on the left bank of the Rio Montezuma, in thetierra caliente, on the boundary of the State of Vera Cruz. Its neighborhood is rich in sugar plantations and in tropical productions generally.
Venado, 29 leagues north of San Luis, is the chief town of its Department; it lies on the road from the capital of the State to Catorcé, and contains about 8,000 inhabitants.
In thepartidoOjocalientelies the town of that name, 28 leagues north-west of the city of San Luis, and 10 leagues south-east of the capital of Zacatécas, 6,714 feet above the sea.
Catorcéis a mining town, likewise in the department of Venado, and is sometimes known by the sounding title of "Real de la purisima Concepcion de Alamos de los Catorcé." The name is supposed to be derived from the slaughter of fourteen Spanish soldiers who are said to have been killed in its vicinity by a tribe of savages inhabiting these wild mountain regions before the discovery of the adjacent mines.
Nothing can be more dreary, bleak and desolate than the aspect of the Cordillera of Catorcé. A few narrow mule paths, or the worn bed of a mountain torrent alone break the monotonous coloring of the mass; and the town placed at the great height of 8,788 feet above the sea, is completely hidden from below by the bold brow of the mountain.[68]There is neither a tree nor a blade of grass on the steep and sterile flanks of these rocky elevations, though seventy years ago the whole district was covered with wood which might have endured for centuries had not the improvident and wasteful spirit of the first adventurers wantonly destroyed these valuable resources. Forests were burnt to clear the ground, and the larger timber which was required for the mines when they were wrought again after the revolution, was brought from a distance of twenty-two leagues.
On reaching a high ridge above the adjacent valley, the town of Catorcé is immediately perceived at the feet of the traveller, lying in a hollow beyond which the mountain steeps again rise precipitously above a thousand feet,—the course of theVeta Madre, or great "mother vein," being distinctly traced upon it by the buildings belonging to the mines and miners. The site of the town is extremely singular, as it is intersected by deep ravines, orbarrancas, upon the ledges of which many of the dwellings are erected. Some of these strange edifices, like those of Edinburg, have one story on one side, and two or three on the other; and most of them are surrounded by massive fragments of rock, amongst which the laborers shelter themselves from inclement weather.
In this region the most valuable mines of the State of San Luis Potosi have been found and wrought.
Within a few years past a profitable quicksilver mine was discovered, south of the capital, in the jurisdiction of the Hacienda de Villela. This mine, in the months of August and September, 1843, produced 1,068 pounds of the metalen caldo.
This fine portion of the present Mexican Confederacy was colonized at the end of the sixteenth century by the Viceroy Monterey, and was then known by the proud title ofEl Nuevo Reyno de Leon, or, the New Kingdom of Leon. The modern State is bounded on the east by Tamaulipas; on the north by Coahuila; on the west by that State and Durango; on the south-west and south by Zacatécas and San Luis Potosi.
The geological formation of this State is generally mountainous. It lies among the first spurs and ridges of the Sierra Madre, south of the Rio Bravo, or Grande del Norte, and is interspersed with wide plains and fruitful valleys which produce good crops under careful cultivation. The rivers, all of which flow eastwardly towards the Gulf of Mexico, are the Rio Tigre, the San Juan, the Rio Blanco or Borbón, and the Sabinas, which passes into this State from Coahuila, and falls into the Rio Bravo near Revilla. There are numerous other small streams and brooks, of no geographical but of considerable agricultural importance. The climate is generally warm, except among the higher ranges of mountains; and, in summer, it is usually extremely hot, though healthy. The population is estimated at about 130,000.
New Leon is divided into five Partidos or Departments, with 25 districts.
1st. Department of Monterey, with seven districts: Monterey, Salinas Victorias, Absalo, San Nicolas Hidalgo, Pesqueria Grande, Santa Catarina, and Guajuco.
2d. Department of Cadereyta Ximenes, with five districts: Cadereyta, Santa Maria, Cerralvo, Agualequas, and Santa Maria de las Aldamas.
3d. Department of Monte Morélos, with three districts: Monte Morélos, Mota and China.
4th. Department of Linares, with five districts: Linares, Galéana, Hualahuises, Rio Blanco and Concepcion.
5th. Department of Aldáma, with five districts: Villa Aldáma, Vallecillo, Sabinas, Lampazos and Tlascala.
The agriculture of New Leon has not been as carefully and successfully pursued as it might have been, in the hands of a different population. The annual product of the soil has been stated by the Mexican authorities, to average 120,600 fanegas of corn; 5,700 fanegas of frijoles or beans, and 46,500 hundred-weight of sugar;—the home market affording one dollar per fanega for corn, three dollars per fanega for frijoles, and three dollars per hundred weight for raw sugar.
The chief occupation of the landholders is the grazing of cattle, and the yearly return of animals, shows that the State is quite productive in this branch of rural labor. It is calculated by official reporters that New Leon annually feeds and sends to market:—50,000 horses, 12,000 mules, 75,000 large horned cattle, and 850,000 sheep, goats, and hogs. The local value of which is six dollars a head for horses, twelve for a mule, four for neat cattle, and from fifty cents to a dollar, a piece, for sheep, goats, and swine. The State is regarded as rich in minerals of silver and lead, but the mining operations are almost abandoned, except at Cerralvo and Vallecillo. Salt is made at the salt mines on the banks of the Rio Tigre. The domestic trade is carried on in State productions with Mexico and Querétaro, and North American or European fabrics are imported through the port of Tampico de Tamaulipas.
The capital of the State isMonterey, in 25° 59´ north latitude and 102° 33´ west longitude from Paris, about 220 leagues north of the city of Mexico, situated on the plain at the foot of the Sierra Madre on the margin of one of the affluents of the Rio Tigre. Its population is estimated at about 13,000, and its climate is considered agreeable and healthy. Monterey is connected with the historyof North American victories, by the capitulation it made to General Taylor, September, 1846.
The other principal towns, villages and settlements in New Leon, areSan Felipé de Linares, containing 6,000 inhabitants, 40 leagues south-east of Monterey; Buena Vista, a village 7 leagues north-west of Linares; Cadereyta Ximenes, a small town of 2,000 people, 10 leagues south-east of Monterey; Salinas Victorias, 10 leagues north of Monterey; Pesqueria Grande, a village north-west from Monterey, and formerly the site of silver mines and salt works; Villa Aldama; San Carlos de Vallecillo; Lampazos; Agualequas; China, and Galeana.
Coahuila was formerly united with the ancient Mexican province of Texas, until the revolution, which resulted in the independence of the latter, sundered the bond and added it to the United States of North America. The present State of Coahuila is bounded on the east by New Leon and Tamaulipas; on the south by Zacatécas; on the west by the Indian territory known as the Bolson de Mapimi, Durango and Chihuahua; and on the north by Texas.
The whole State lies on the first steps of the Sierra Madre; its southern portion, beyond the Rio Sabinas, is extremely mountainous; but from the northern bank of this stream, the land sinks gradually into levels until it is lost in the well-watered and fruitful plains of Texas. The principal rivers in this State are the Rio Grande del Norte or Rio Bravo, the Sabinas and the Rio Tigre; and the chief lakes or lagunes are those of Parras and Agua Verde.
The climate of Coahuila is equable and healthy. From the middle of May to the middle of August the greatest heat is generally experienced, and, during this season, the country is torn by high winds which nearly every day begin to blow at sunset. The population of the State is estimated at about 97,000. Large bodies of Indians inhabit the lonelier regions of Coahuila; and, in the north, beyond the Rio Grande, the country swarms with ferocious tribes of Lipans and Cumanches. Agriculture is not flourishing though the soil of large portions of the State is good and capable of production. The remote position of Coahuila, and the thinness of its population, have probably obliged the inhabitants to congregate in towns and villages where they might afford each other mutual protectionagainst the frontier savages; and thus they have been induced to abandon agriculture for the wilder life of vaqueros or herdsmen. Wheat, corn, beans and vegetables are easily raised in the best parts of the State, and in the vicinity of Parras extensive vineyards have been planted which produce an excellent wine. Horses, mules, wine and corn form the home commerce of the State; while in the neighborhood of Santa Rosa, and of two or three other villages, a small number of persons are engaged in the exploration of mines.
The principal town of Coahuila isSaltillo, or, as it is sometimes called,Léona-Vicario, situated in the south near the boundary of Nuevo Leon, twenty-five leagues westward of Monterey, at the foot of a hill in the midst of a fruitful region. Its geographical position, according to Wislizenius, is about 25° 25´ of north latitude, and 101° west longitude from Greenwich. It is a well built town, whose straight streets radiate at right angles from the public square, in the middle of which a tasteful fountain constantly supplies the population with excellent water. The population exceeds 20,000; and the town is celebrated for the production of woollen blankets andserapesorponchos, which are in demand all over the Republic.
San Fernando, or,La Villa de Rosas, is a town and military post in the north of the State, south of the Rio Grande, containing about 3,000 inhabitants.
Monclova, is a town of 3,700 inhabitants on the Coahuila, an affluent of the Rio Tigre.
Parraslies west of Saltillo, on the east bank of the lake of the same name, and some years ago was estimated to contain nearly 17,000 inhabitants, including the adjacent farmers, planters and their laborers. It is celebrated for its grapes and wine, as we have already remarked.
The other villages and settlements worthy of note are Villa Longia, Viesca y Bustamante, Santa Rosa, Guerrero, Cienegas, Abasoto, Nadadores, S. Buenaventura, San Francisco y San Miguel Aguayo, Capillania and Candela.
Durango is bounded on the north by Chihuahua; on the west by Sinaloa; on the east by Coahuila, and on the south by Zacatécas and Jalisco.
This State is penetrated, from near its centre, in a north-westwardly direction by the main artery of the great Cordillera; and whilst the north-eastern section of Durango slopes gradually downward towards the waters of the Rio Grande, its south-western part lies high up among the table lands and mountain spurs that lean towards Sinaloa and the Pacific coast. The climate of this mountainous State is healthy and cool, and its agricultural productions are similar to those of other Mexican States whose geological formation resembles it.
Durango is divided into twelvepartidosor departments:—Durango, San Juan del Rio, Nombre de Dios, San Dimas, Mesquital Papasquiaro, Oro, Indee, Tamasula, Cuencamé, Mapimi, and Nasas;—comprising 38 municipalities, 4 cities, 5 towns, 54 villages, 52 mineral works, 48 parishes, 111 haciendas, 48 estancias, and 521 ranchos. The population is estimated at about 300,000.
The chief streams and bodies of waters in the State are the Rio Nasas, Rio Guanábas, Rio Florida, and the lagunes of Cayman and Parras, the latter of which, though lying in Coahuila, bounds upon the edge of Durango.
The wealth of Durango exists in its minerals and in its cattle estates. Itshaciendas de criaproduce immense quantities of horses, mules, sheep and horned beasts which are readily sold in the various markets and fairs of the republic. At the hacienda of La Sarca, a stock of 200,000 sheep and 40,000 mules and horses, is constantly kept on hand, and at Ramos, which contains four hundred square leagues of land, 80,000 sheep are annually fed for their fleece, skins and carcasses. About 150,000 sheep are every year sent from Durango to the market of Mexico alone.
In the valley of Poanas, fifteen leagues east from the capital, there are fine corn lands; and in the deep valleys of the Sierra Madre even sugar is raised wherever the exposure and the moisture of the situation permits the successful cultivation of cane. Indigo and coffee grow wild in the warm barrancas on the genial slopes of the Cordillera; but neither of these articles is as yet cultivated by the planters. Cotton is grown in the vicinity of the Rio Nasas, and the town of Cinco Señores is the centre of a district covered with plantations which supply most of the factories of San Luis Potosi, Zacatécas and Saltillo. Mescal, a species of brandy is distilled in large quantities from the maguey which grows abundantly in Durango.
The capital of the State, seat of government, and residence of the bishop, is the city ofDurango, sometimes known asLaCiudad de Victoria, or,Guadiana. It lies under 24° 25´ north latitude and 105° 55´ west longitude, at an elevation of 6,847 feet above the level of the sea, and sixty-five leagues north-westwardly from Zacatécas. It is in the southern section of the State, and was originally founded, in 1559, by the Viceroy Velasco, as a military post designed for the control of the Chichimecas. Its population at present may be estimated at between thirty and forty thousand.
This capital, and most of the other noted towns in Durango, owe their existence to the mineral wealth of the neighborhood. Before the mines of Guarisamey were discovered the city of Durango was a mere village, orpueblo ranchero, containing, as late as 1783, no more than eight thousand inhabitants. But the exploration of the mines infused life, activity, and wealth into the population, and the State progressed rapidly as its resources were developed. The fine streets of the capital, its greatplazaor square, its theatre, and all its public edifices were erected by Zambrano, who is said to have extracted upwards of thirty millions of dollars from his mines at Guarisamey and San Dimas. A mint has been established in the city, and, besides this, it possesses factories of cotton, glass and tobacco.
The towns ofVilla del Nombre de Dios, with 7,000 inhabitants,San Juan del Riowith 12,000 andCinco Señores de Nasas, are almost the only ones in the State unconnected with mines. The two first are supported chiefly by the sale of Mescal distilled from the maguey or aloe; and the last, by the extensive cotton plantations which have been already mentioned.
Besides these towns there are the VillaFeliz de Tamasula, north-west of Durango on the boundary of Sinaloa;Papasquiarowith 6,000 inhabitants; Guarisamey, a mining town, in a deep and warm valley, surrounded with steep mountains near 9,000 feet high, and containing about 4,000 people; La Villa de Mapimi, north of the Rio Nasas, on the borders of the Bolson de Mapimi, and east of the Cerro de la Cadena, with about 3,000 inhabitants; Cuencame; El Oro; and many other villages and towns, too numerous and too unimportant for separate notice, but which deserve recollection as indicating the tendency of this region to aggregate population. The State contained in 1833, 250,000 inhabitants, according to good authority, and it is probable that at present it does not number less than 300,000.
Durango is rich in mineral deposits. Iron abounds within a quarter of a league of the gates of the capital. The Cerro del Mercado is entirely composed of iron ores of two distinct qualities,—crystallized and magnetic,—but almost equally rich, as they containfrom sixty to seventy-five per cent. of pure metal. Silver is also abundant in the mountains; but the mines have been carelessly worked, and, in some places, are abandoned for want of suitable machinery or enterprize. The principal districts and places in which this precious deposit has been found and profitably wrought, are at Gavalines, Guarisamey and San Dimas, in the two last of which the fortunate adventurer Zambrano, acquired, during twenty-five years, the extraordinary wealth he possessed. These mines are divided into Tamasula, Canélas and Sianori, lying on the western slope of the Cordillera; and Guanasevi, Indée, El Oro, Cuencame and Mapimi, on the eastern declivities. They lie about five days' journey west of the capital.
The following interesting sketch of Indian necrology is given in the valuable and recent work of Mühlenpfordt upon the Mexican Republic.
In the State of Durango,—says this interesting German author,—especially in the unexplored portion of the Bolson de Mapimi, many relics of antiquity, important for the history of this country, are probably hidden. In the summer of 1838, a remarkable old Indian cave of sepulture was discovered in this singular region. Among the few establishments which enterprizing settlers have founded in that lonely territory which is overrun by wild Indians, one of the most important is the estate of San Juan de Casta, on its western border, 86 leagues north of the town of Durango. Don Juan Flores, its proprietor, rambling one day with several companions in the eastern part of the Bolson, remarked the entrance of a cavern on the side of a mountain. He went in, and beheld, as he imagined, a great number of Indians sitting silently around the walls of the cave. Flores immediately rushed forth in affright, to communicate his remarkable discovery to his friends, who at once supposed that the story of the adventurer was nothing but an affair of fancy, as they no where found any trace or foot path to show that the secluded spot had been hitherto visited. But, in order to satisfy themselves, they entered the cavern with pine torches,—and their sight was greeted by more than a thousand corpses in a state of perfect preservation, their hands clasped beneath their knees, and sitting on the ground. They were clad in mantles excellently woven and wrought of the fibres of a bastard aloe, indigenous in these regions, which is calledlechuguilla, with bands and scarfs of variegated stuffs. Their ornaments were strings of fruit-kernels, with beads formed of bone, ear-rings, and thin cylindrical bones polished and gilt, and their sandals were made of a species ofliana.