Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican/Volume 2/Book 5/Chapter 2
CHAPTER II.
THE STATE OF VERA CRUZ.
The State of Vera Cruz lies under the burning sky of the tropics between 17° 85' and 22° 17' of north latitude; and 96° 46' and 101° 21' west longitude from Paris. It is comprised within a long but somewhat narrow strip of territory along the Gulf of Mexico, running from the mouth of the Tampico river, in the north, to the Guasacualco and the boundaries of Tabasco, on the south. Its length is 166 leagues; its breadth, from 25 to 28; and it is estimated to contain an area of 5,000 square leagues. It is bounded eastwardly by the Gulf; south by Tabasco; north by Tamaulipas; and west and south-west by Oajaca, Puebla, Mexico, Queretaro and San Luis Potosi. The eastern part of the State is generally level, low and sandy; but, further inland, it gradually rises as the traveller leaves the arid and burning wastes of the coast, until the country is broken into an uninterrupted series of lofty mountains and beautiful vallies.
The coasts of this State are rich in rivers, streams, inlets, and lagunes; but, unfortunately, they are either not navigable for any considerable distance, or are obstructed by bars at their mouths. Among these streams the following are chiefly to be noticed as of importance: The Rio Tampico, the Garzes, the Tuspan, the Cazones, the Tenistepec, the Jajalapam or Tecolutla, the Nautla, the Palmar, the Misantla, the Maguilmanapa, the Yeguascalco, the Actopan, the Chuchalaca, the Antigua, the Jamapa, the Rio Blanco, the San Juan or Alvarado, the Aquivilco, and the Guasacualco which is a boundary stream between the States of Vera Cruz, Oajaca and Tabasco.
The principal lagunes in the State of Vera Cruz are:—The Laguna de Tamiahua, the largest on this coast of Mexico, being ten leagues long and eight leagues broad. It has two mouths in the Gulf;—one at the bar of Tamiahua, and the other, further south near the mouth of the small stream of Tuspan. Between these mouths lies the island of Tuspan; while the two islands of Juan Ramirez and El Toro are found in the lake or lagune itself. The next lagune in importance is that of Tampico, four leagues long and three broad; and besides this, there are—the Lagunas de Mandingo, of Alvarado, (which is subdivided into eight smaller lagunes,) of Catemaico, Alijoyúca, and Tenango.
There are several mineral springs in this State, and at Atotonilco, near Calcahualco, in the district of Cordova, there are warm baths which are celebrated for their efficacy in nervous and rheumatic diseases. There are mineral waters also near the hacienda of Almágros, in the district of Acayucam, and other warm springs near Aloténgo in the district of Jalanzingo, whose qualities have not yet been ascertained by chemical analysis.
The population has been estimated by recent writers at near 251,000; which distributed over the 5,000 square leagues will give about 50 inhabitants to the square league. According to our estimate in the chapter on population, the number may be set down at 
JALAPA.
270,000. The milder regions about Jalapa and Orizaba are more thickly peopled, than the comparatively sterile and sickly shores of the gulf. The population is composed of mixed races:—Creoles, Indians, Havanese, Foreigners, and a few Negroes.
The State of Vera Cruz is divided into four Departments and twelve districts, with 103 municipalities and 1,370 village jurisdictions.
1st. The Department of Jalapa, with two districts or cantons, viz:—1st, Jalapa, including the capital of that name,—thirty-one villages, fourteen haciendas and sixteen ranchos;—and 2d, Jalanzingo, with the towns of Perote and Jalanzingo, five villages, seven haciendas and thirty-three ranchos.
2d. The Department of Orizaba, with three districts or cantons: 1st, Orizaba, including the city of that name,—Sougolican, twenty-seven villages, six haciendas and fifty ranchos. 2d, Cordova, including the city of that name, and the towns of Coscomalepec and San Antonio Huatusco,—twenty villages, twenty-eight haciendas 237 ranchos,—and 3d, Cosamaloapan, with eight villages, five haciendas and forty-one ranchos.
3d. The Department of Vera Cruz with four districts or cantons: 1st, Vera Cruz, including the capital of that name, with Alvarado and Medellin, 21 haciendas, 149 estancias, and 600 ranchos. 2d, Misantla, with four villages, two haciendas, and thirty-four ranchos. 3d, Papantla, with thirteen villages, seven ranchos and the hacienda de Norias. 4th, Tampico, with Tampico and Panuco,—seven villages, thirty-nine haciendas and forty-one ranchos.
4th. The Department of Acayucam, with three districts or cantons:—1st, Acayucam, with the adjacent Acayucam and San Juan Olúta, nineteen villages, twelve haciendas, twenty-seven hatos and eleven ranchos. 2d, Huimanguillo, with twenty-one villages, one hacienda and nineteen ranchos. 3d, San Andres Tuxtla, with the adjacent San Andres and Santiago Tuxtla,—two villages, one hacienda, thirty-four hatos, and eight ranchos.
It is impossible in a description of this rich and varied State to sum up with accuracy what it produces either naturally or by introduction from abroad, for its genial climate, changed by the elevation of the interior portions of the State, renders it capable of yielding the fruits, the flowers, the grains, the woods, the vegetables and the animals of the temperate as well as of the torrid zone. Tobacco, coffee, sugar, cotton, corn, barley, wheat, jalap, sarsaparilla, vainilla, mameis, papayas, pine-apples, oranges, citrons, lemons, pomegranates, zapotes, bananas, chirimogas, aguacates, tunas, pears, watermelons, peaches, apricots, guyavas, grapes: mahogony, ebony, cedar, oak, dragon-blood, tamarinds, palms, dyewoods, and a thousand other plants, trees, shrubs, cereals and parasites, spring almost spontaneously from the soil, and render the necessary labor of man almost insignificant. After the strip of sandy sea-shore has been passed, and the country begins gradually to rise, health and rich vegetation follow the traveller's footsteps. He beholds on every side magnificent forests filled with majestic trees and illuminated by the splendid colors of flowers and buds. In the midst of these solitary folds among the mountains, farms and plantations are opened, which gleam with the freshest verdure of cane or corn; while over the levels, innumerable herds of cattle are fed from the mere fulness of the land, and without the necessary tending either of shepherds or vaqueros. An idea of this State's richness in cattle may be formed from the following account of the number it possessed in 1831,—the district of Jalapa being excluded from the list, inasmuch as there were no returns for that year:—
| 291,055 | neat cattle, | |||
| 49,321 | horses, | |||
| 9,396 | mules, | |||
| 3,110 | asses, | |||
| 17,680 | goats, | |||
| 35,325 | sheep; |
the total value of which, together with the cattle product of the canton of Jalapa, cannot be less than $2,000,000.
The principal cities, towns and villages of the State of Vera Cruz, are 1st, La Villa rica or La Villa Heroica de la Vera Cruz—the capital of the State; 2d, Tampico or Pueblo viejo de Tampico; 3d, Panuco; 4th, Tuspan; 5th, Misantla; 6th, Papantla. [On the road from the port of Vera Cruz to the western limit of the State, lie Paso de Ovejas, Puente del Rey or Puente Nacional, Plan del Rio, and El Encero, but these are small towns or villages of no great consideration.] 7th, Alvarado; 8th, Boca del Rio; 9th, Tlacotalpan; 10th, Cotastia ; 11th, Talascoyan; 12th, San Martin Acayucam; 13th, San Andres Tuxtla; 14th, Santiago Tuxtla; 15th, Soconusco ; 16th, Jaltipan ; 17th, Chinameca; 18th, Orizaba; 19th, Cordova; 20th, Cosamaloapam; 2lst, Aculzingo; 22d, Jalapa; 23d, Jalanzingo, and 24th, Perote.
The port of Vera Cruz lies in 19° 11' 52" north latitude, and 98° 29' 19" west longitude, from Paris, on a sandy plain,— interspersed with marshes,—which bound the Gulf of Mexico. Its unhealthiness is proverbial. From the month of May to that of November,—comprising the usual period during which the northers cease blowing,—the vomito prieto, or black vomit, prevails incessantly at Vera Cruz. None but natives of the town, or acclimated foreigners, are free from its attacks, and the frightful inroads it made among our troops, in the year 1847, will long be remembered in the history of our army and country. Time does not appear to have had any effect on this dreadful disease. Increase of population and sanatory precautions do not seem to abate its malignity; and the science of the ablest physicians is entirely at fault in dealing with it. Diarrhœa, dysentery and vomito are the most fatal and prevalent maladies at Vera Cruz; and, the latter disease, is reckoned to cause one-sixth of the whole mortality of the port.
Table showing the fall of water at Vera Cruz in the years from 1822 to 1830, both inclusive:
| Years. | Feet. | Inches. | Tenths. | |||||
| 1822 | 13 | 1 | 5 | |||||
| 1823 | 15 | 8 | 9 | |||||
| 1824 | 10 | 7 | 1 | |||||
| 1825 | 20 | 6 | 4 | |||||
| 1826[1] | 5 | 4 | 4 | |||||
| 1827[2] | 21 | 2 | 8 | |||||
| 1828 | 12 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 1829 | 23 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| 1830 | 17 | 1 | 4 |
The majestic mountain of Orizaba, or Citlaltepetl, the "Mountain of the Star," is found within the limits of the State of Vera Cruz, and as it is somewhat renowned in all geographical descriptions of this continent, we shall insert the first authentic account of its ascent we have ever seen, which was prepared by Lieutenant W. F. Reynolds, of the United States Topographical Engineers, who, with some friends, reached the lofty peak whilst serving with our army in Mexico.
"The Peak of Orizaba," says he, "though situated nearly a hundred miles in the interior, is the first land beheld on approaching Vera Cruz from the gulf. Being visible nearly fifty miles at sea, it is the most important land mark to the sailor in these regions. While the command under General Bankhead, which was the first to march from Vera Cruz to the city of Orizaba, was ‘en route,' in February, 1848, the mountain being constantly in view, a trip to its summit was frequently discussed; and after our arrival at that place, the marvellous stories told by the inhabitants only increased our desire to make the attempt. All agreed that the summit had never been reached, though several knew or heard of its being attempted. The difficulties to be encountered were represented as being perfectly insurmountable; craggy precipices were to be climbed; gullies, two thousand feet deep, it was said, were to be crossed; inclined planes of smooth ice were to be ascended; to say nothing of avalanches, under which, we were assured, all the rash party who made the daring attempt would surely find a grave. These extraordinary stories produced quite a different effect from the one anticipated, and the question was not who would go, but who would stay home. It was not, however, till the latter part of April that the weather was thought favorable, and securing, for the proposed expedition, the sanction of the commanding officer, we made our preparations for overcoming all obstacles. Accordingly, long poles were prepared, shod with iron sockets at one end and hooks at the other, to assist in scaling precipices; ropes with iron grapnels were to be thrown over a projecting crag or icy point; rope ladders were made to be used if required; shoes and sandals with sharp projecting points to assist in climbing the icy slopes, were also bespoken;—in short, everything that was thought might be needed or would increase the chances of success, was taken along. The selection of a route presented some difficulty, different ones being recommended—those by San Andres and San Juan de Coscomatepec particularly. In order to decide between them, we endeavored to persuade some of the intelligent citizens who were acquainted with the country, to go with us. At first they consented, but as the time approached one after another declined, till finally, when the party assembled for starting, it was found we were to go alone. Then, as some inclined to one route and others to another, we concluded to reject all their recommendations, and go direct to the mountain, following the path taken by the Indians engaged in bringing down snow to the city, as far as the limits of vegetation, and from that point to go round the peak to the side that would present the best prospect for success.
"We left the city of Orizaba on the morning of the 7th of May, the party consisting often officers, including one of the navy, thirtyfour soldiers, and two sailors serving with the naval battery, three or four Mexicans and Indians as guides, and enough pack mules to carry our provisions and equipments. Our expedition setting out during the armistice, it was thought advisable to procure a passport from the prefect of Orizaba to provide against exigencies. About six miles from the city of Orizaba we passed through the small Indian village of La Perla; the inhabitants were much frightened at our approach, but our passport soon quieted them, and when they came to know the object of our visit, they seemed to regard us as the greatest set of donkeys they ever saw, telling us very plainly that we could never reach the summit. Nothing daunted, however, we continued on, and immediately after leaving the village commenced a rapid assent, and began to enjoy views which in themselves would have amply repaid us for our trouble. We encamped for the night at an elevation of 7,000 feet above the level of the sea; the night was clear and bracing, but not cold enough to be uncomfortable.
The next morning was beautiful and clear, and after an early breakfast, we were again in motion. The scenery was truly sublime, and ascending one mountain after another, valley after valley appeared in view; hills which at first seemed mountains, seemed gradually sinking before our feet, and the range of vision constantly extending, we could not help making frequent halts to admire scenes which cannot be surpassed, and which at every successive turn broke upon our sight with redoubled magnificence and grandeur. We were now in the region of pines and northern plants; the old familiar oak, the birch, and trees unknown to the lower countries, were around us; the heavy undergrowth had disappeared, and we could almost imagine ourselves in our 'dear native land.' Cultivation does not extend up as high as we expected to see it; we passed the upper limit about 8,000 feet elevation. About 12 o'clock, and at an elevation of rather more than 10,000 feet, the guides reported that the mules could go no farther, and not knowing anything of our route beyond, we were compelled to encamp for the night. A brother officer and myself, however, being on horse-back and feeling comparatively fresh, determined to go forward and explore. We concluded that it would not do to stop where we were, but the mules with light loads could go still higher. Accordingly, next morning we again started, four or five of us going in advance to select a good place for encampment, and also to explore the best route for the final ascent. We selected our camp on the verge of vegetation, and went forward by routes far above the line of eternal snow. Under shelter of a rock, and far above that line, some of the party found a rude cross, decorated with paper ornaments and surrounded by tallow candles. Its history we were unable to learn, but it gave rise to many reflections. Who placed it there? when was it erected? and what event did it record? were questions asked, but not answered. During the trip several parties of Indians passed us, who make a regular business of bringing down snow on their backs to the citizens of Orizaba. The cross was probably erected by some of them. On our return, we found all our baggage brought up to the new encampment, notwithstanding it had been pronounced impossible, and on comparing notes, selected the route which seemed most practicable, and prepared for the ascent in the morning. The night was clear and cold, the thermometer falling below the freezing point; a heavy frost and frozen water reminding us forcibly of 'auld lang syne.' While sitting round our camp-fires this evening, it was discovered that there were two flags in the party; the sailors not knowing that one had been brought along, had carried materials and manufactured one in the camp. It was proposed to get up a rivalry as to which flag should be planted first, but we came to the conclusion at last, that should the summit be reached, the honor should be equally shared. As night came on, we enjoyed a most magnificent sight; the clouds gathered round the foot of the mountain so as to entirely obstruct our view, while the distant lightning flash, darting from cloud to cloud, was visible far beneath our feet; the sky overhead being bright and beautiful. We were encamped at an elevation, according to the barometer, of 12,000 feet, about double that of the highest peak of the White Mountains—while the summit still raised its snow-white head above us to a height nearly equal to that of Mount Washington above the sea, and seemed to frown upon the pigmies who dared to attempt to scale its giddy, and, as yet, unascended height. At daylight on the morning of the 10th of May, we were again in motion; many of the party had already given out, so that there were but twenty-four persons to start on the final journey. In a few minutes we were at the foot of the snow, and taking the route over which there seemed to be the least of it, passed for half or three-fourths of a mile over loose volcanic sand. On measuring the slope of this, I found it to be 33°. It was by far the most difficult portion of our ascent;—sinking up to our knees in sand, we seemed to go back about as far as we stepped forward, while the rarefied condition of the atmosphere made exertion painful in the extreme; indeed, during the whole of this day's ascent, it was impossible to advance fifty paces without stopping to take breath. When not exerting ourselves, we could breathe with comparative ease; but the moment we moved, we were reminded of our great elevation. I can only compare the sensation to that felt by a person who, after running at the top of his speed, is ready to sink down from sheer exhaustion.
"At length, however, we reached firm rock, and it was quite a relief to be able once more to climb with our hands and feet. But we were yet far from the point at which we were aiming, and before reaching it were to be many times sorely disappointed. A projecting crag, far above, would be hailed as the summit; step after step the weary body was dragged along, until at length it was reached; but, once there, it was found to be but the base of another still higher;—this, too, being overcome, another was discovered above. Thus, time after time, were our expectations crushed, till hope seemed almost to have forsaken us, and one after another dropped behind in despair. But—'advance'—was our motto, and onward we pushed, until at length the efforts of some of the party were crowned with success, and they dropped exhausted on the brink of the crater.
"The crater is nearly circular and variously estimated by different members of our troop at from 400 to 650 yards in diameter. We all estimated the depth at 300 feet. The sides are nearly vertical, and show strong and unmistakeable signs of fire, looking like the mouth of a gigantic furnace.
"At the foot of this perpendicular wall was quite a bank of sand or débris, which had fallen from the inner surface of the rock, indicating the great length of time since the volcano had been extinct. Indeed its fires were perfectly dead, for the bottom of the crater was covered with snow. Humboldt says its most violent eruptions were in 1545 and 1566,—nor have I seen a record of an eruption since.
"As I desired to test Humboldt's altitude, I had taken the precaution to be as well prepared as circumstances would admit, and accordingly had carried with me the best barometer I could get, which, from previous calculations, I deemed capable of indicating a height of from 300 to 400 feet higher than that given by him. I had, also, provided myself with a spirit-lamp and thermometer, for the purpose of taking the temperature of boiling water; but, on the march, the bottle containing the alcohol was broken and the spirit entirely lost. I therefore determined to test the combustible qualities of whiskey. One of my first objects after reaching the summit was to make observations; but, on preparing the barometer, the mercury sank at once below the graduation.
"I estimated the distance between the lowest line of graduation and the top of the mercury at two-tenths of an inch, which gives,—with corresponding observations in the city of Orizaba at the same hour,—an elevation of 17,907 feet, and makes it the highest point on the North American Continent. I do not think I could have been far wrong in my estimate, as the means of comparison were before me; but, even supposing I was mistaken one-twentieth of an inch, we still have an elevation of 17,819 feet, 98 feet higher than Popocatepetl, which is usually considered the highest point,—5,400 metres, or, 17,721 feet, as given by Humboldt.[3] The temperature was just below freezing point. My attempt to burn whiskey failed. Since my return to the United States, I have observed that Humboldt states that Mr. Ferrar measured Orizaba, eight years before his arrival in Mexico, and gave the mountain an elevation of 5,450 metres or 17,885 feet. Humboldt's measurement, made from a plain near Jalapa, is 155 metres less, or 17,377 feet in all. It will be seen that my determination agrees very nearly with that of Mr. Ferrar.
"We remained on the summit about an hour,—planted our national banner and saluted it with three hearty cheers. The day was clear, but the atmosphere thick and smoky, so that we did not enjoy the views we had hoped for; but as we believed ourselves to have been the first who ever looked into the crater, we were amply repaid for our trouble.
"The descent was by no means so difficult as the ascent; a slide on the snow or sand carried us hundreds of feet down a space which had required many weary steps to ascend. About dark we arrived at our encampment, highly delighted with our trip, though much exhausted. All who made the final attempt were more or less affected either with violent headaches, nausea, and vomiting, or bleeding at the nose. The veils which we provided for our journey did good service, but the face, and particularly the lips, of all who reached the summit, became so extremely swollen and cracked as to confine them to their rooms for several days.
"The difficulty of the undertaking had been greatly magnified;—none of our preparations, excepting veils, were necessary. The sand is the most serious obstacle to be overcome, and by taking a more circuitous route from our last encampment, this might have been avoided. All that is required is patience, perseverance and a physical constitution capable of sustaining fatigue."
Ancient Remains in the State or Vera Cruz.
During the sojourn of Mr. Norman in Mexico, in 1844, as described in his "Rambles by Land and Water," he made an excursion to visit the ancient town of Panuco, where he was received with the greatest kindness and hospitality by the white and half breed inhabitants. His route lay along the banks of the river, and across the prairies: the common road being only a bridle path through the forest which is never travelled but with the greatest caution and watchfulness. Here, as in the State of Tamaulipas, he visited the Indian huts that lay in his way; but it was quite impossible to convihce the credulous children of the wilderness that the acquisition of gold was not the real object of his visit;—and this circumstance may account for the fact that he obtained from them so little information respecting the neighborhood.
Panuco, an old town of the Huestecos, which is subject to occasional inundation during the rainy season, is the only important settlement above Tampico, on the Panuco river, and contains about four thousand inhabitants. It is beautifully seated on the banks of the stream, in the State of Vera Cruz, about thirty leagues from Tampico by water and fifteen by land. In its vicinity, scattered over an area of many miles, are ancient ruins, whose history is not only entirely unknown to the inhabitants, but seems not to excite their interest or curiosity. Mr. Norman could not discover the slightest trace of a tradition on the subject amongst the neighboring people, though he diligently sought it from every reliable source. Several days were employed by him in explorations, and his toil was occasionally rewarded by the discovery of strange and novel objects. Among these was a handsome block or slab, seven feet in length, one foot in thickness, and two and a half in average width. Upon its surface was beautifully wrought, in bold relief, the full length figure of a man in a loose robe, with a girdle about his loins, his arms crossed on his breast, his head encased in a close cap or casque somewhat resembling a helmet without the crest, while his feet and ankles were bound with the thongs of sandals. The edges of this block were ornamented with a plain raised border, about an inch and a half square. The figure is that of a tall athletic man of fine proportions, whose features are of the noblest class of the European or Caucasian race, and the execution of the sculpture was equal to the very best that the traveller found among the wonderful relics of the country. It was found lying on the side of a ravine, resting upon the dilapidated walls of an ancient sepulchre, of which nothing now remains but a loose pile of hewn stones. It was more than four feet beneath the present surface of the ground, and was brought to light in the course of excavating which revealed a corner of the slab, and the loose adjacent stones that had been bared by the rush of waters in the rainy season, while breaking a new and deep channel to the river. The earth that covered the slab and sepulchre had not been heaped by the hand of man; but was the natural accumulation of time, and many years must have been requisite to bury it so deeply.
Three leagues south of Panuco, there are other ancient Indian remains which are known as the ruins of Chacuaco, and are represented as covering an area of three square leagues, all of which were comprised within the bounds of a large city; we should mention also the ruins of San Nicolas, five leagues south-west; and 
AZTEC FIGURES IN CLAY.
those of La Trinidad, about six leagues in nearly the same direction. Besides these, there are other ruins of which the traveller was informed, situated at a still greater distance, all of which present the same general features as those already described, and probably belonged to the same period, or were built by the same race. The whole region is alleged to to be full of these memorials of the number, power and wealth of the ill-fated nations that once dwelt and worshipped on the eastern slopes of the Mexican Cordilleras.
Domestic utensils made of the ordinary pottery of the country, but skilfully and even artistically formed, have been exhumed from among these ruins of ancient cities; and in the course of Mr. Norman's explorations he unearthed two singular and grotesque images which probably figured in the idolatrous worship of the Indians. Our traveller found that similar images were used by the Indian women of the present day, who suspended them about their necks as talismans, and especially relied on them in seasons of sickness and danger. The images referred to are hollow, with a small aperture near one of the shoulders, and are filled with balls as large as a pea, which are supposed to have been made of the ashes of victims sacrificed in former days to the gods. We have ourselves seen numbers of these earthern figures in the valley of Mexico, where they are vulgarly known as "Mexican's Idols." Travellers have usually classed them among the Dii Penates or household gods of the Aztecs or Toltecs, but we have regarded them either as the ornaments of a primitive people or as the dolls and playthings of their children. In our plates of antiquities discovered in the valley, several figures are to be found which we think belong unquestionably to this class.
Pyramid of Papantla.
PYRAMID OF PAPANTLA.
from this secluded hamlet, lie spread over the plain, the massive ruins of an ancient city, which in its palmy days was more than a mile and a half in circuit. It is a matter of great regret that these relics have never been sufficiently explored, drawn and described. The most satisfactory account that we possess of them is that given in the "Voyage Pittoresque et Archeologique" of Monsieur Nebel, who visited them several years ago, and has sketched the beautiful pyramid represented in the plate, which is unquestionably one of the most perfect and symmetrical relics of antiquity within the present limits of the republic. Time has done its work upon this remarkable remain; and trees, plants and vines, which grow so rapidly in this teeming climate, have sprung among its joints and stories.
The Indians of the neighborhood call this pyramid "El Tajin;" it consists of seven bodies, stages or stories, each of which rises at the same angle of inclination, and is terminated by a frieze and cornice. It is constructed of sand-stone beautifully squared, joined and covered with hard stucco, which appears to have been painted. The pyramid measures one hundred and twenty feet on every side at its base, and is ascended by a stair composed of fifty seven steps, each measuring one foot in height, and terminating at the top of the sixth story. This stairway is divided in three places, by square recesses two feet in depth, resembling those which perforate the friezes on each of the stories. The stair ends at the top of the sixth story, and the seventh, which seems to be in ruins, is hollow, and was probably the shrine wherein sacrifices were offered before the image of the god to whom the pyramid was dedicated. Monsieur Nebel does not state the height of this edifice; but as he gives the elevation of each of the fifty-seven steps, we may calculate that the summit of the shrine is at least sixty-six feet above the base.
A few leagues from Papantla, near an Indian rancho called Mapilca, Mr. Nebel found pyramids, sculptured stones, and the ruins of an extensive city, which it was impossible for him to examine in consequence of the thick vegetation with which they are covered in the dim recesses of the forest. The artist was alone in the wilderness, and unaided except by a few indolent Indians who were indisposed to further his researches. The stone, which is presented in the annexed drawing, is twenty-one feet long, and of a close grained granite; the figures, carved on its surface, differ from the ancient sculptures found on this side of the Cordilleras, and resemble those found in Oajaca, more than any others in Mexico. Mr. Nebel caused an excavation to be made in front of this relic, which he supposed had once formed part of an edifice, and at some distance below the surface he struck upon a road formed of irregular blocks, not unlike the old Roman pavements.
About fifteen leagues west from Papantla, in a small plain at the feet of the eastern Cordillera of Mexico, are the remains of Tusapan, which is supposed to have been a city of the Totonacs. The vestiges of this little Indian city are almost obliterated, and the only very significant relics are the pyramidal edifice exhibited in the annexetl plate, and a singular fountain, a drawing of which is given in the work of M. Nebel.
The pyramid, built of stones of unequal size, extends thirty feet on each of its sides at the base, and the summit of its single story is reached by a flight of stairs. Upon the platform of this base a square tower is erected, which is entered by a door whose posts and lintel, as well as the friezes of the edifice, have been elaborately carved. In front of the door, within the tower, stands the pedestal of the ancient divinity, but the idol itself has been destroyed. The interior of this apartment is twelve feet square, and its ceiling, like the external roof, terminates in a point.
Around the pyramid are scattered masses of stones, sculptured into the images of men and various animals; and from the inferior manner in which the carving on these objects is executed, we may judge that this religious temple was not the most celebrated architectural or artistic work of the ancient inhabitants.
The fountain which we have already mentioned is a single female figure in an indecent squatting attitude, nineteen feet high, and cut from the solid rock. The remains of a pipe which conveyed the water to it, are still visible behind the head, and the liquid passed through the body of the gigantic image until it was discharged beneath into the basin or canal, by which it was carried to the neighboring town. The Indian tradition, as recounted by Nebel, states, that the ancient inhabitants of this spot, abandoned it, in consequence of the unfertility of the soil and the failure of the streams, and that they took refuge in, or united themselves with the occupants of Papantla.
ISLAND OF SACRIFICIOS.
At the period of the Conquest of Mexico, this small island, which lies a few miles from the present city and port of Vera Cruz, and under whose lee is found the best anchorage on the Eastern Coast for vessels of war, was unquestionably a spot sacred to sacrifice and burial.
But no one seems to have examined this island, with a truly antiquarian spirit, until it was visited in 1841, by M. Dumanoir, who commanded a French vessel of war which was then anchored at the island. Previous to this time it had been trodden by thousands of idle sailors and landsmen who raked its surface for the Indian relics of pottery and obsidian which lay scattered in every direction; and, consequently there was little of value to be discovered above ground. Accordingly, Monsieur Dumanoir undertook to make suitable excavations, and, in the centre of the islet he discovered various sepulchres, in which the skeletons were found in a state of excellent preservation. Besides this, his trouble was rewarded by the exhumation of large numbers of clay vases, covered with paintings and etchings, together with idols, images, collars, bracelets, arms, teeth of dogs and tigers, and a beautiful urn carved either in white marble or in the alabaster which abounds in the neighborhood of Puebla.
MISANTLA.
ANCIENT VASES AND VESSELS.
lofty wall of hills from whose summit the sea in the neighborhood of Nautla is distinctly visible. The table lands upon which the ruins are found is only approachable by the gentler declivities in the direction of the hill of Estillero; and, at all other points, the lonely eminence appears to have been sundered from the surrounding regions by some volcanic convulsion.
As the mountain plain on the summit is approached, the traveller first discovers a broken wall of massive stones, feebly united by cement, which seems to have served for the boundary of a circular plaza or area in whose centre rises a pyramid eighty feet high, forty-nine feet broad, and forty-two deep. It is divided into three stories or stages, and along the sloping sides of the lower and broadest terrace, a stairway leads to the first offset. The second stage is ascended by a stair at the side, and the top of the third is reached by steps niched into the corner of the pyramid. In front of the edifice, on the second story, are two pilastral columns, which it is supposed may have been portions of the stairway; but this part of the teocalli, and its upper story are so wildly overgrown with trees and tropical vegetation that the outline of the structure is greatly obliterated. On the summit, a gigantic tree, has sent its roots deep into the spot which was doubtless once the shrine of the Indian temple.
Beyond the wall of the circular area in which this edifice is placed, are found the remains of the city or town, extending nearly three miles north in a straight line. The foundations of all the houses are still distinctly traceable. They were built of large square stones, and are separated by streets at the distance of about three hundred yards from each other. In some of the blocks of buildings the walls are yet standing, at a height of between three and four feet above the level of the ground. South of the city are seen the relics of a low narrow wall, by which it was defended in that direction;—and north of it there is a tongue of land, jutting out towards the precipitous edges of the mountain, whose centre is occupied by a mound which the explorers have supposed to be the ancient cemetery of the inhabitants. On the left acclivity of the slope by which the town is approached are twelve sepulchres, seven feet in diameter, and as many high, in which several bodies were found, parts of which were in good preservation. The walls of these tombs are constructed of cut stone; but the mortar that probably once joined them, has entirely disappeared. Several erect and sitting figures, carved in stone, were discovered on the site of this city, and two blocks were found, filled with hieroglyphic characters. Numbers of vases and utensils, were also unearthed; but they were carried to Vera Cruz, and all trace of them has been subsequently lost.[4]
REMAINS NEAR PUENTE NACIONAL.
About a league and a half from the Puente Nacional, or National Bridge, to the left of the high road in the midst of a dense forest, and near the banks of the stream known as the Rio del Puente, Don José Maria Esteva found some interesting remains of antiquity in November of 1843. They had been visited in 1819 or '20, by a priest, named Cabeza de Vaca, who was then curate at Puente Nacional, but from that period until 1843, they had been entirely lost sight of. The temple or teocalli, is situated on the top of a small mount, elevated about one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the stream, which runs at its feet. In consequence of the inequality of the surface of the soil, the edifice is thirty-three Spanish feet high, on some of its sides, and forty-two on others. It fronts towards the east, and its platform, or upper level, is reached by a stairway of thirty-four steps, so steep as to be almost perpendicular to its base. The platform is forty-eight Spanish feet broad, and seventy long. The semi-circumference of the base is stated to be one hundred and six feet. The edifice is surrounded by six stairways, one foot broad, and the distance between each step or stage of the body of the teocalli, is about seven feet high nearest the base, their height diminishing, however, as you ascend to those nearest the platform. The whole structure is built of lime, sand and large stones taken from the bed of the river, and although shrubs have grown both on the platform and on the stairways, this interesting relic of antiquity has been so completely protected, that its form is still perfectly preserved. At first sight the edifice would seem to be perfectly solid, yet upon examination it has been found to be hollow, and that its ancient entrance was from the west. This entrance, however, is so small that notwithstanding the efforts of laborers who were employed by the explorer to clear the fallen rubbish and open a path, they were unable to penetrate the whole of the interior chambers. The short time they were enabled to devote to this work, and the fear of the Indians to encounter wild beasts and serpents in the interior of the temple, deterred Señor Esteva from further efforts, and thus, perhaps, one of the most perfect remains of antiquity on the east coast of Mexico is still very inadequately described.[5]
THE STATE OF TAMAULIPAS.
This State was known, previous to the revolution, as the Itendencia de San Luis Potosi, and included the colony of Nuevo Santander. It is now bounded on the north by the North American State of Texas; on the north-west by the Mexican State of Coahuila; on the west by the States of New Leon and San Luis Potosi; on the south by San Luis Potosi and Vera Cruz; and, on the east, by the Gulf of Mexico. The breadth of the State varies from twelve to fifty-five leagues.
The coast of Tamaulipas is more than three hundred and fifty miles in length, and is fringed with lagunes, varying from four to eighteen miles in width, which are divided from the gulf by barriers and banks of sand. The shallowness of the shores along the whole of this coast, and the dangerous bars which choke the mouths of the rivers, render the navigation difficult and dangerous for vessels of almost all classes. In the northern part of the State, in the neighborhood of the Rio Grande, the country is comparatively level. South of these high plains, however, and some distance in the interior, the land is varied by a succession of mountains, hills and vallies, which gradually slope eastwardly until they are lost in the flats and sands of the sea coast. The Cerro de Martinez, the Cerro de Xeres, the Cerro del Coronel, and the mountain ridges, or sierras, de la Palma and del Carico, are the most remarkable elevations. The land is well watered. Fine vallies extend along the Rio del Norte or Rio Grande, the Tigre, Borbon, Panuco and Dolores. On the coast are found the lagunes of La Madre, Morales and Tampico.
The climate of the interior of Tamaulipas is mild and healthy; but on the coast an intense heat prevails during the greater part of the year, and, combined with the rank vegetation and moisture, produces diseases similar to those which scourge the adjacent shores of Vera Cruz. As soon as the northers begin to blow, all nature—animal and vegetable—is refreshed by the grateful change; but the hot season generally recommences in March, and soon spreads miasma and death throughout the whole of the low lands.
The population of Tamaulipas,—consisting chiefly of Meztizos and Indians,—was estimated by the Mexican Calendar of 1833, at 166,824, who were divided among three departments and eleven districts or cantons. In 1842 the population, as stated in the estimate for a congress, was 100,068; and if to this we add ten per cent, for the estimated increase in seven years, we shall have 110,074 in 1850.
The chief productions and the indigenous plants are similar to those found in the State of Vera Cruz; and considerable trade is carried on with the interior—especially with the States of San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, and Queretaro,—in mules, oxen, horses, honey and wax. The coasting and foreign commerce is conducted principally in the ports of Tampico de Tamaulipas and Matamoros. From these places, large quantities of European and North American manufactures, enter the middle and northern States of the republic. Queretaro, San Luis, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Jalisco, Durango, Chihuahua and Sonora are all benefitted by this trade in a greater or less degree; and the Panuco, Rio Grande and other streams are all availed of partially for this interior trade as far as they are navigable. At Soto la Marina an important smuggling business was long and vigorously carried on.
The capital of this State is Victoria, formerly Santander, a town of 12,000 inhabitants. Tampico de Tamaulipas, on the northern bank of the Panuco, which enters the Mexican Gulf five miles below the town, is the principal commercial port of the State. Its bar is dangerous and its harbor considered unsafe. Large vessels cannot approach the town, which is situated among extensive marshes. It is visited almost every year by the yellow fever; yet its foreign commerce is extensive and appears to be increasing.
Soto la Marina is a small village and haven at the mouth of the river Santander, on its left bank. It, is composed chiefly of Indian huts, and contains about 3,000 inhabitants.
Matamoros lies on the right bank of the Rio Grande or Rio Bravo del Norte, at the distance of ten leagues from its mouth. It contains about 10,000 inhabitants, who have become well acquainted with the people of the United States during the recent war. The climate of Matamoros is hot and sickly, like that of Tampico or Vera Cruz; but as the river upon which it lies is perhaps the most important in Mexico, and has proved navigable by steamers for a considerable distance in the interior, it is probable that this place will become the depot of a large and valuable commerce destined for the supply of the northern States of the Mexican confederacy. By the treaty of 1848, the Rio Grande became the boundary between large portions of the two republics; and as the intervening country between the Nueces and the Rio Grande is not considered at present attractive for agricultural purposes, it is likely that it will long continue unoccupied and unsettled, thus leaving the whole of our commerce to be conveyed to Matamoros, or to our own neighboring settlements on the opposite shore, for distribution throughout the valley of the Rio Grande.
TAMPICO.
The other towns and villages in Tamaulipas worthy of note, are Altamira, Horcasitas, Coco, Escandon, Llera, Santillana, Padilla, Hoyos, Guadalupe, Reinosa, Camargo, Mier, Revilla, the most important of which lie on the margin of, or near, the Rio Grande.
ANCIENT REMAINS IN TAMAULIPAS.
The only remains of Indian architecture and civilization of whose existence we are aware, are those described in the small work published by Mr. B. M. Norman in 1845, to which we have already alluded, entitled "Rambles by Land and Water or Notes of Travel in Cuba and Mexico." This gentleman's notices of the antiquities in this region are exceedingly brief, sketchy and indefinite, nor are the illustrations with which his text is accompanied, calculated to convey more vivid pictures of the relics he visited or discovered in the course of his investigations along the margins of the Panuco.
Departing from Tampico, in March, 1844, he ascended that river in a canoe, paddled by an Indian, and before nightfall, on the second day of his primitive voyage, reached Topila creek, three miles from the mouth of which he landed at a rancho or cattle farm, belonging to Señor Coss, of Tampico. Five miles from this spot, lying to the eastward of another rancho, he found several considerable mounds, one of which was more than twenty-five feet high and of a circular form. At its sides, a number of layers of small flat well hewn stones were still to be seen; while scattered about were many others of larger size and various shapes. All were perfectly plain or unadorned, and had apparently been used for the door posts and lintels of edifices.
On the following day, the traveller visited the rancho de las Piedras, distant about two leagues and a half in a southerly direction from the bank of the Topila. Passing through a dense wilderness, he reached after much toil, an elevated table land or plateau, near a chain of hills running through this section of country and known as the Cerro de Topila. Here he found more scattered stones which had once formed parts of buildings; while, further on, he discovered several mounds, whose sides were constructed of loose layers of smooth and uniform blocks of concrete sandstone. Most of these layers, had, however, fallen from their places in the tumuli, and were heaped in masses near their base. About twenty of these mounds, lay contiguous to each other, varying in height from six to twenty-five feet, some being circular and others square. The principal elevation in this group of pyramids covers an area of about two acres, and at its base, Mr. Norman discovered a cylindrical stone slab seven inches thick, four feet nine inches in diameter, and pierced through the centre, lying upon the top of a circular wall whose top was level with the ground. On removing this stone he found a well filled up with broken stones and fragments of pottery. The upper portion of the slab bore evidence of having been originally sculptured, but the tracings of the chisel were so much worn by time and seasons that they could not be drawn with accuracy. On the top of the tumulus, in front of which this well was discovered, grew a wild fig tree, whose gigantic height of more than an hundred feet, indicates the great age of the work and the long period of its abandonment.
The walls of the adjacent minor mounds had all fallen inward, from which the traveller concluded that they had been used for sepulture; but he does not seem to have taken the time or trouble to verify this conjecture by personal explorations. The ground, for several miles around, was strewn with loose hewn stones of various shapes, and broken fragments of pottery, which had unquestionably formed parts of domestic utensils. Fragments of obsidian, which had no doubt been the knives and weapons of the former inhabitants of this spot, were also plentifully scattered about, and every indication existed of a dense population in the by gone days. These ruins are placed by Mr. Norman in 98° 31' west longitude and 22° 9' north latitude.
But the remains of edifices, pyramids and tombs were not the only relics found by the traveller in these dense forests bordering the Atlantic coast. The Indians who once dwelt in this district, like the Aztecs, Zapotecs and Yucatese had evidently devoted themselves to sculpture; but whether for the purpose of simple adornment or for idolatry, there are no facts to apprise us with certainty. The most remarkable relic found by Norman, was a large head, beautifully cut in fine sandstone, of a dark reddish hue, which abounds in the neighborhood. The face stands out in bold relief from the rough block, as if it had been left unfinished, or as if it was originally designed to occupy a place among the ornamental portions of an edifice. The industrious traveller caused this object to be borne, with others, to Tampico, and has deposited it in the collection of the New York Historical Society. Other stones, of a somewhat similar character, attracted his attention, but the most extraordinary sculpture he has described in his work is that to which he assigns the name of the American Sphynx. It is the image of a gigantic turtle, with the head of a man protruding boldly from beneath its carved and curving case. The back was correctly and artistically wrought, and all the lines of the scales were neatly cut in exact proportions. There were also in many parts fainter lines, shewing that the peculiar and graceful arabesques which are wrought by nature on the shell of this amphibious animal, had not been overlooked by the artist. This huge figure, raised on its four legs, was placed upon a large block of concrete sandstone. All its parts were equally true to nature. It was much mutilated, and the human head had been especially injured, but not sufficiently to obliterate the artistic workmanship with which it had been originally chiselled.
The place where Mr. Norman found these remains had evidently been the site of a large city; and, proceeding with his excavations among huge masses of earth or stones of every size and shape, he was, at length, rewarded by the discovery of another ancient figure. It was merely a human face, in full relief from the block, which was entirely cut away from the top and bottom, but left in two nearly circular projections at the sides. The ornaments on the head are peculiar, and are formed of three balls, with slight indentations, connected together by a band running across the top of the cerebrum and terminating at the sides just above the gigantic ears, which are nearly half the size of the face. The features and contour of the head are described as not resembling those of the American or Mexican Indian in any of their lines. This head is seventeen inches in length, twenty-one in width, including the ears, and ten in thickness. It was found on the side of a large pile of ruins, the remains of dilapidated walls, of which it had unquestionably formed one of the ornaments. It is to be regretted that Mr. Norman was unable to devote more time to the exploration of this region. His antiquarian researches however formed only an episode in his travels through portions of Mexico, and besides this, his labor was exceedingly great in cutting his way through the dense shrubbery which covers the ground amid a wilderness of trees, matted and woven together with thousands of creepers or plants whose thorns pierced or obstructed him at every moment. He had, moreover, to contend wnth myriads of annoying insects, and he feared the bite of the poisonous alacranes or the spring of the tiger that sometimes started from the thickets. He received no assistance from the stupid Indians dwelling in the neighborhood. They could not conceive that curiosity alone would prompt any one to encounter the toil and danger which must be endured in explorations in the Tierra Caliente of Mexico, and imagined that the search for gold and buried treasure, rather than antiquities, was his real motive for attempting to penetrate the recesses of their lonely wilderness.
- ↑ This year was remarkable for its dryness and the loss of cattle on the coasts in consequence.
- ↑ In this year the observations include only ten months.
- ↑ It will be seen hereafter that expeditions subsequent to Humboldt's calculation give Popocatepetl a height of 17,884 feet.
- ↑ See Mosaico Mejicano.
- ↑ See Museo Mejicano, vol. 2, p. 465, for a plate of this temple.