The Rambler in Mexico/Letter IV
LETTER IV.
It is an advantage to have a mind disposed to enjoyment, and to feel yourself participating in that temper, which extracts pleasing sensations out of every situation. I may without arrogance say, in different degrees, perhaps, and from very different impulses, such was the character of each individual of the trio whose footsteps you have good-humouredly, I doubt not, followed thus far.
We had all, while in the tierras calientes been struck with the peculiar beauties of that region and its wonderful productions; and revelled, with all due temperance I hope, in the many sources of rational enjoyment there laid before us; philosophically enduring, if not scorning those annoyances, to which the climate, country, and the rude state of society, unavoidably exposed the traveller.
The suffocating heat, the insect plagues, the unwonted food—what in fact had they been to us, compared to the sum of our enjoyments? We almost felt regret, while mounting the lofty mountain ladder which was to raise us to another and more temperate zone, that we were turning our backs upon such unparalleled beauty.
Nevertheless, if I would signalize one evening and one scene, during our ramble in New Spain, which touched our hearts more than another, I should name the Monte Penulco and the setting sun which we there beheld.
A desolate-looking stone building, in the vicinity of a poor rancho, divided by party walls into a number of comfortless lodgings, here furnished us with accommodation; and after seeing that all our retinue had followed us without accident, we left our horses to their repose, and sallied forth for a stroll.
The swelling crest of the Monte Penulco is said to have been at the time of the Spanish conquest, the site of a large town containing many thousand inhabitants. You look now in vain for the traces, either in the remnants of buildings, or inequalities of surface. A solitary stone ruin, of considerable strength, standing in the middle of the wide pastures, is the only vestige of old times; and that, I have no doubt, like many ruins in this part of the country, which are shown as Indian antiquities, is of Spanish origin. It may either have been a chapel erected for the edification of the new converts, or a fort constructed to overawe the Indian inhabitants.
In other respects, nature has reclaimed her own, and resumed her quiet sway over the Monte Penulco and its brethren, which exhibit throughout all their varied undulations of surface, an unbroken carpet of delicious verdure nurtured by the moist mists of the mountains, and beds of gentle flowers, fanned by the pure and elastic air of an eternal spring.
How sweet we felt the repose of that long still evening upon those green Alpine pastures! Well might we, as we lay at ease upon the fresh sod, and watched the sun sink among the mountains girdling the horizon, while his slanting beams glistened upon the pretty white œnothera which spotted the turf, congratulate each other upon our escape from the persecutions of garapatoes and their insect allies.
The view on all sides was fine, but chiefly so towards the deep defiles of the Cañada at our feet. The Monte Penulco occupies the angle between the forks. Across the opening which marked the great defile above Tlacolula, an even line of blue, melting into the mist of the utmost visible horizon, marked the open country of the Huastec, through which we had passed many days previous. Many little solitary Indian huts, and patches of sugarcane, and numerous herds of cattle, were scattered over the precipitous slopes far and wide, and altogether, we agreed, that nowhere in America had we seen mountain scenery whose general features and colouring bore so great a resemblance to the lower green Alps of Switzerland, with their wide pastures, transparent atmosphere and glistening chalets.
The Monte Penulco lies probably at the height of between four and five thousand feet above the gulf. The limit at which the sugarcane and banana come to perfection, has been given as the boundary between tierras calientes and tierras templadas; but I am doubtful whether that is a just criterion, as so much depends upon the geological formation of a locality, and its position with regard to the surrounding country, and in some parts of Mexico sugar is cultivated at a much greater height than that which otherwise would exhibit the phenomena of the tierras templadas.
We supped in our den, during the brief twilight of the tropics, and welcomed the temperate zone of New Spain in a horn of its own vintage, which I here introduce to your notice under the name of pulque—a liquor drawn from the great Mexican aloe, or maguey.
I forgot to mention that, on arrival here, we yielded to the desire of Espindola, that we should dispense with his services for the night and following morning, and allow him to go forward to his home in the town of Zacualtipan, between three and four leagues distant, to prepare his wife for the reception of our party: and I have now further to narrate the defection of our scapegrace Juliano, who, after going about his work in the evening like a man in a maze, was reported early the next morning by his comrade to be dead—or dying—or drunk; at all events incapable, or unwilling to move another step. We therefore visited him, and inquired into the particulars of his case. We examined his tongue—well-coloured and healthy; felt his pulse—free and regular; and punched him affectionately in the stomach, that being, according to the mute indication of the sufferer, the main seat of the unknown disease. He bore this professional treatment with great meekness. We ascertained that he had, in conformity to his invariable habits, made a very hearty supper: to wit, a dozen and a half of tortillas smeared with Chile; a dish of rice; a dish of frigoles, forbye an egg or two; a huge pot of pulque, and a couple of yards of sugarcane; and we had great suspicion, from what we learned, that he intended, as soon as the coast was clear, to make an equally hearty breakfast. But what were we poor, innocent, helpless travellers to do ? There he lay under a group of Palma Christi, on his armas d’agua, or goatskin knee wrappers, like a man who has completely lost his hold upon the world—made his last testament—left to others the consolations to be derived from the possession of his goods and chattels—his battered green velvet pantaloons, and short jacket; his mighty sword, and mightier carbine; and was only waiting for the priest to give him his viaticum.
It is true, we had all good reasons to believe him “playing possum," as the Anglo Americans express it, otherwise shamming; indeed, we had proof positive showing this to be the case, and that, moreover, he had excellent reasons for doing it, and for quitting us here. He was deeply in our debt. He was tired of his masters, as he found that his villanies, small and great, were detected. He knew that from this day forward, the gallant bearing of a warrior which he had assumed was no longer to be a sinecure, but that there was a possibility of his having actually to fight—all urgent reasons for breaking his chain. And break it he did—no doubt finding his health wonderfully restored, as soon as our diminished train disappeared; and I could almost sympathize with the laugh which he must have indulged in, as he saw the three dons in the distance, reduced to the necessity of turning muleteers—the more so, as our hyper-charity had left him a bonus for his ill conduct.
Abobo and his fellows were all mad that morning—whether from the intoxicating effects of mountain air, or from their feeling that Espindola was absent, and that we were in a dilemma, I know not. However you might be tempted, you cannot follow Juliano's example and go back; but nolens volens must keep us company over one swelling height after another, up and down—but always attaining a greater and greater altitude, till after about three hours' march through an elevated line of country, partly under cultivation, the view suddenly opened to the south, and we saw the main chain of the Sierra Madre, heaped over the horizon in that direction, the wide stretch of varied table land at its feet, and the pretty town of Zacualtipan before us.
It was certainly a pity that Juliano did not keep up his courage so far as to advance to Zacualtipan, for he would have gloried in the eclat with which our party entered it; wheeling round by the great church, and across the Plaza, with ringing spurs and jingling arms, at a hard trot after our intoxicated mules, which, led by old Abobo, as soon as they recollected the locality and the near proximity of their own stable, set off at a canter to the great risk of the various piles of which their lading was composed. Great was the astonishment of the peaceful inhabitants; and even a sleepy corps de garde of half-clad soldiery, lounging under the piazza of the municipal palace in the square, were evidently taken by surprise. However, they had no time to collect their forces; for following hard in the wake of our baggage, we descended a narrow street, on the opposite side of the space, and rushed pellmell into the hospitable courtyard, much to the delight of our honest arriero, who, with his young wife and two children, was upon the lookout for us. He gave as a hearty welcome to his home, where, both for his sake and our own, we had determined to take an entire day's rest.
A salvo of hearty kicks was meantime fired by old Bamanos upon every set of ribs and haunches within reach, either as a salutary correction for their general want of discipline, or a publication of his resumption of authority as "lord of the walk" now that they were at home.
Zacualtipan was the largest town we had yet seen in Mexico, though far overrated, it being reported to contain ten thousand inhabitants. Its situation, at the broken ground towards the head of a vast rocky ravine of great depth, descending for several leagues towards the valley of Rio Oquilcalco, is very picturesque. Many of the houses are constructed of limestone, with balconies and galleries somewhat in the Spanish taste. The principal church is more curious in parts, than beautiful in proportion: and it is singular to trace here and there many of the Moorish and Arabesque details which are to be found in the splendid churches of the mother country, transplanted hither on the soil of the New World. The church is furnished with its quota of bells, priests, and tinsel; as we had an opportunity of discovering an hour after our arrival, when a large, but dirty and tawdry funeral procession, with hymns and crucifix, perambulated most of the narrow streets of the place, of which the deceased seemed to have been a wealthy inhabitant. There is little or no trade or manufacture here, as far as we could learn.
The house of our arriero was comfortably, but simply furnished with settees round the walls, and was by far the most pleasant lodging we had occupied since our arrival in the country; and though far from wealthy, it was easy to see that the master was respected by his townsmen. He devoted the following morning to a ramble with us in the adjacent country, in which he pointed out various remnants of old times. We remarked the site of more than one Indian town, now only indicated by swelling heaps of rubbish or sunken wells, and some singularly shaped rocks, which tradition points out as objects of idolatrous worship in ancient times.
What we were most eager to visit, were certain Indian temples, of which we had heard much, and we were accordingly conducted to a massive ruined church of moderate size, situated a little below Zacualtipan, just at the commencement of the great defile. Its erection is referred to times prior to the conquest, but I have no hesitation in saying, falsely so, like others which we inspected in this valley, in continuing our route. It is strongly built of hewn stone, cemented by lime, and adorned with a species of carved frieze, the very form and drawing of which convinced me that that at least was of Spanish workmanship. And a little further inspection and acquaintance with the undoubted erections of the Aztec and Toltec nations, certified me that the whole structure was of the same origin, though probably built upon the site of a temple or teocallis of the aborigines. In the course of the evening, we inspected another of similar form and character, strikingly situated on a knoll below the elevated village of San Bernardo, two leagues below Zacualtipan, and overlooking the great defile; and to this the same observation applies.
I had an awkward kind of adventure just before our departure from the town. While all unarmed, peaceably sketching alone, in a secluded spot in the vicinity of the church, I was attacked at disadvantage by a savage patriot, either mad or drunk, or both, who from the circumstance of my having been seen more than once in that precise position, in the purlieus of his solitary dwelling, with paper and pencil, was pleased to consider me as a spy, and accordingly followed and accosted me with his naked sabre at my throat. That the fellow was capable of doing me some grievous bodily injury, all for the love of Mejico y liberdad, if not for plunder, in spite of my honest face and intentions, I am convinced; and that I felt very foolish, at being thus taken unaware, without the means of self-defence, you will believe. As it was, I had to put on all my address, and more bold effrontery than I generally affect, to decoy him to accompany me towards a more public thoroughfare, where he was pleased to leave me; and to tell the truth, I was pleased to leave him. This was the second warning I had had, what kind of trouble I was likely to get into by doing that which in this land even honest people could not comprehend, besides throwing myself in the way of danger from the vicious; and as I could not resolve to give up my pursuits, I, from this time henceforward, never stirred abroad without being well armed.
In the vicinity of San Bernardo, we met with the first regular plantations of the Agave Americana, or maguey, which I have alluded to as the source from which the present inhabitants of the table land of New Spain, as well as the Aztec aborigines, draw their ordinary beverage. It is a noble plant, and I will not forget some future day to give you a more detailed account of its appearance, culture, and uses.
The ninth of March is noted on my memoranda as having afforded us a singularly amusing day's travel.
The whole tract of country over which it lay was perfectly distinct in its features from any we had yet seen. The swelling forms, thick rank luxuriance of the lower country, and the sweet pastures and evergreen oaks of the first and lower steps of the tierras templadas, had alike disappeared; and as we held our course over the elevated hills west of the great defile, we saw around us tracts of most astonishing extent, partly level table land, and partly hill country, with rocky and precipitous sides, and furrowed with barrancas and ravines of astounding depth. The whole landscape, up to the foot of the distant Sierra Madre, appeared garbed in the most uninviting russet hue—the scanty grass covering the plain being now of a uniform brown, and in perfect harmony with the burnt, arid soil, or bare rock. Fertile spots there were, but they were hidden in the deep valleys. The scene was not lovely, but it was sublime. Its details were highly curious. This region, barren as it was, had its vegetable as well as its geological wonders, and they were such as to strike us with astonishment. The whole of the stony surface of the mountains on both sides of the valley of the Rio Oquilcaico, into which we descended, is covered with a profusion of maguey, mimosa, cactus, and gigantic nopal or prickly pear, many of the segments of whose curious lobe-formed growth were from three to four feet in circumference, and the oldest near the ground, which served for stem, as many feet in girth, rising one above another, till they formed a curious but ungraceful tree of fifteen or eighteen feet in height.
Among the cacti, of which I counted eight distinct species, from the little prickly ball no larger than a wall-nut, to the great white multangular column which rose gracefully in a single shaft, to the height of fifteen feet, two of the larger species might also arrogate the name of trees, and were extremely curious in appearance.
A rough and tortuous track led us into the arid and stony bed of the Rio Oquilcaico, where, sending the mules forward, we made a diversion to the left, to visit another so-called Indian temple, of much the same character as those I have already mentioned. A ragged passage of a mountain four leagues across, exhibiting the same phenomena, brought us to our midday halting place, at the pretty Hacienda Guadaloupe, situated in the middle of shady trees, and smiling fields of maize, sugarcane, beans, and so forth, on a clear mountain stream called Rio Grande, which in the rainy season forms a considerable river. The system of irrigation carried on in this vale is productive of great fertility, and many of the fruits and productions of the tierras calientes are brought to perfection. After an hour's halt, we began the long and rocky ascent of the broad mountain of San Ammonica, by which you finally attain the level of the expanse of table land which forms the pedestal of the Sierra Madre. Near the summit, the traveller passes the crater of an extinguished volcano, having long perceived, throughout the whole district, the marks of volcanic eruption, and after a difficult climb of the extreme and precipitous ridge, gains the level of the plain above mentioned. Though partly under careful cultivation, its surface also bears many signs of the volcanic origin of the country, in the beds of scoria, the deep and perpendicular rifts and barrancas which mark the path of the earthquake, or the combined effects of alternate heat and torrents, and the fearful-looking pits, half full of black water, which are dispersed over it. There was much to remind me of the country about Civita Castellana.
The day came to an end by our arrival at the great Hacienda Zoquital, where we took possession of one of a great range of unfurnished rooms, which, according to the custom of the country, are let at a fixed price for the occupation of travellers, while stabling is furnished for their horses and mules. It is seldom that these night quarters are furnished with windows.
This was one of the most considerable haciendas we had seen; and in truth, its massive walls might have almost stood a siege, and maintained a considerable garrison within their circuit.
Many parties of arrieros were here passing to and from the capital. The attention of all seemed to be a little excited by the fact, that a troop of banditti had been plundering a party that very day on the road between the Hacienda and Real del Monte; and it was quite amusing to see the determination with which loading and priming were carried on the next morning at daybreak in our party in particular, as we were destined to be the first to advance in the direction of the supposed danger. What with guns, horse pistols, and pocket pistols, we calculated the three dons could fire ten shots without reloading for their own share, which was not so much amiss, supposing every shot told. We could not count upon Miguel's blunderbuss, which was quite as likely to hit one of the party as an enemy. As to Espindola, he was perfectly unarmed, and made no secret of his Quaker principles and steady determination not to fight; as he said very coolly, "Why should I, even if I had anything to lose, for if I defended myself, and even beat off or killed my assailants, I am known to every robber in the country, and I should be stabbed secretly, if not shot openly! It is different with Ios signores estrangeros, if they choose to run the chance; but los signores ladrones Mejicanos seldom attack when they are not sure to overpower."
During the morning's ride over the wide plains, in the bright and cloudless sunshine towards Real del Monte, we were led to reconsider our plans for the day, on finding that, as we were desirous of seeing the hacienda and barranca of Regla, we might attain that object in the course of the day, by going a few leagues out of the direct road to the silver mines, without falling short of our arrangement to arrive that night at Real del Monte. Accordingly we resolved to leave the mules to their fate: and, sending them forward on the main road, under the conduct of Miguel, and a little valet of Espindola's, our small party turned aside, under the escort of the latter. We soon reached the town of Puebla Grande de Mittan, the situation of which, more to the east, had long been indicated by the huge church which rises over its motley collection of habitations. We allowed ourselves no breathing time here, further than a hasty glance at the church and a draught of pulque required; but continued our route over an elevated district of singular sterility, commanding, however, noble views of the surrounding chains. After two hours' ride, we descended into a valley, with occasional haciendas scattered over its surface, and shortly after found ourselves at the brink of the Barranca of Regla. A well-constructed road, upon which we had been pacing for some time, conducted us by a rapid descent into the recesses of this celebrated ravine, when we suddenly came in sight of the immense pile of the hacienda and its Moorish church tower overtopped by the lofty colonnades of columnas basalt which form the sides of the barranca. In the abundant supply of water which rushes down it, you find the reason which has led to the choice of this singular locality for the erection of those colossal works for the smelting and amalgamation of the silver ores, which the enterprise and unlimited means of a former Count of Regla have constructed within this horrible gulf, at the cost of nine millions of dollars. At the present time, this property, together with an almost boundless extent of country on the neighbouring cordillera and in the plain, including the silver mines of Real del Monte, has been, since 1824, rented in perpetuity of the noble possessor, by a British mining company, for the paltry sum of sixteen thousand dollars per annum.
We were hospitably received and entertained for some hours by Mr. M., the company's superintendent at the hacienda; and through his kindness were furnished with every facility for a detailed inspection of the various works, which of course have been brought to far greater perfection by the present proprietors. Not the least remarkable feature of these immense works, are the ponderous bulwarks of hewn stone, built to protect the works from the impetuous torrents of debris brought down by the river in the rainy season. We did not of course fail to ascend the barranca to the celebrated cascade, which you reach by tracing the course of the stream between two walls of basaltic columns, upward of a hundred feet in height. It is to be found at some distance above the hacienda, where a screen of the same singular geological structure, composed of perpendicular columns of twenty-five or thirty feet in elevation, stretches across the ravine, and bars the course of the river which pours over it from the upper part of the barranca; disjointed sections of rock half covered with moss, and shaded by trees, lie at the foot of either precipice. In the rainy season, the whole scene must be very grand. The colour and texture of the basalt differ in some respects from any I have seen in Europe, if I except that on Ben More, in the north of Ireland. The form of the columns, however, is very complete, and in most cases hexagonal or pentagonal. The barranca of Regla lies about seven thousand feet above the gulf.
The kindness of our entertainer made us prolong our stay far longer than prudence should have permitted, the more so, as a thunder storm was evidently in preparation. We had four leagues of road before us; and the latter part of this, after entering the mountains, was acknowledged to be extremely perilous for a nocturnal ride. A melancholy proof had been given only a few evenings before, when one of the gentlemen connected with the mines, descending from Real del Monte, with Mr. M., was precipitated in the darkness into a profound barranca, and was then lying at the point of death.
But whether in the shape of thunder storm, darkness, barranca, or banditti, we seemed to have made up our minds to dare the danger, and to sleep at an elevation of two thousand feet higher up the country. In fine, just as the thunder began to echo among the mountains of the Rio del Chico, we might be seen issuing from the deep ravine, and urging our horses across the plain in the direction of the nearest chain, like men who knew that no time was to be lost.
Evening fell in early, under the lugubrious and premature shade cast over the brown plain and blue mountains by the thunder clouds; and by the time we reached a small village at the foot of the latter, night had fairly set in. The storm, however, seemed to spread itself more to the northward, as the glare of lightning became less frequent; and it was now that such a darkness fell upon us as baffles all description. I had been riding forty yards in advance as a kind of scout, feeling the way, but now I was compelled to come to a dead stop, and give up the task of leader to Espindola. A momentary flash from time to time showed us that we were at the entrance of a mountain defile overhung with rocks, and at the brink of a dashing torrent, rolling down a barranca to the left; but in our progress forward, our ears alone gave token of the character of the locality. The danger I have no scruple in saying was imminent, and increased in a terrific degree, as we crawled forward step by step, at the edge of a gulf, which increased momentarily in depth, upon a road of no great breadth, undefended on the side of the precipice, and conducted in several instances over the abyss, by bridges equally without parapet.
We kept, as well as the ear and touch would permit, one exactly behind the other, momentarily passing the word to halt, or advance, rapidly from one to another. Now and then we came to a full halt, from the utter doubt whether the next step would not be over the precipice. The passage of each bridge in turn, was a moment of great interest, yet through God's mercy, we met with no accident, but gradually ascended, till the freshening air and the expansion of the valley, as we might see by an occasional flash, indicated our approach to the town. In fine, there we arrived, and after some little search, found our valets, and a room prepared for our reception in a meson or inn.
The mules and their cargoes had fortunately escaped pillage; some thought, from the fact that there were no robbers to attack them, and others, from the intimidation produced by the formidable and suspicious appearance of the leather case of my gun, which, in its empty state, was always carried in advance upon the leading mule, in the hands of little Raphael. Pointed forward between the ears of the animal, it certainly might pass for a bow gun of extraordinary construction.
We made a halt of two days at Real del Monte, which we found to be a singularly picturesque town, containing, among others, one large decorated church, and many substantial buildings. It is surrounded by forests of oak and pine, and mountain slopes carpeted by white, red, and yellow flowering shrubs. It is situated at the height of upward of nine thousand feet above the sea. We found our time fully taken up by the overground and underground excursions which we were enabled to make with much interest to ourselves, through the polite attention of the gentlemen connected with the mining company. Among the former I distinguished a climb to the summit of a singular rock rising, at the distance of some miles, about one thousand feet higher than the town, and commanding a view of extraordinary interest and extent on both sides of the great chain in which the mines are situated. This you will easily conceive, when I enumerate among the points visible within the vast horizon, the plains and lakes of the great valley of Mexico, about twenty leagues distant; the volcanoes of Mexico and Puebla on one hand, and the vale of Regla, and even the great cone of Orizava itself, on the other.
I feel that my description of the mines must of necessity be very brief and insufficient, and that for many details you must be referred to the writings of more sober and laborious writers.
A portion of the first day was devoted to a survey of the superficial operations and works; and on the morning of the second, M'Euen and myself spent six hours under ground, while Pourtales, eschewing fatigue, luxuriated in his grass hammock, smoked five dozen cigaritas, and sipped pulque.
A brief account you have, however, the right to demand.
The great vein of silver ore called the Biscaina, lying in the porphyric rock of this chain, was one of the earliest and most productive of those opened by the Spaniards. It was worked by them with great advantage nearly two hundred years, but circumstances at the beginning of the last century gave rise to its temporary abandonment. It was, however, reopened, and other shafts commenced towards the close of the same century by the Count of Regla, who, in the excavation of an adit, or subterraneous canal, to carry off the waters from the mines, is said to have realized eleven millions of dollars; such being the richness of ore with which he accidentally came in contact. Subsequently difficulties have constrained his descendant to cede his right, as before mentioned; and the Real del Monte Company, after the complete repair of the old works, and the construction of new—the cost and labour of which have been enormous—has at length so far attained its object, that at present the actual proceeds of the mines exceed the expenditure, which here and at Regla is estimated at thirty thousand dollars monthly. The energy and skill of our country-men in the construction of new shafts, and the substitution of steam for animal power—the great roads constructed to Regla and to Vera Cruz, whence all their heavy machinery has been transported on its arrival from England; and the order and wisdom evident in all the operations, are not unworthy of the British name.
At the same time, there is something about mining speculations in any country, and more than all in a country like New Spain, where justice and reason have so little sway, which would make me advise any friend of mine to take a slower but surer mode of seeking his fortune.
In consequence of the number of artificers and miners transported hither, an English colony has sprung up in Real del Monte, and it was moving for me to see the flaxen hair and blue eyes, and hear the prattle of many English children, gambolling in close vicinity to the swarthy offspring of the mixed races of the country.
From the eminence to the south of Real del Monte, an excellent bird's eye view is attained of the general disposition of the works.
The great vein runs through this elevated mountain mass, nearly in a direction of east and west underlying south, with a variation of 24 degrees. All the works are to the south of the town, and are seen disposed up the slope of the main ridge.
The lowest shaft is the Dolores, 330 varas[1] deep, then follow San Cyetano, 347 varas; Santa Teresa, 335; Terrero, 370; Guadaloupe, 210. Santa Agatha and San Francisco are the highest shafts in the series. The great adit, to the level of which the water is brought up by powerful steam engines from the bottom of the mines, lies 242 varas below the mouth of the Terrero shaft. It is throughout 2½ varas high, and 1½ wide, and runs for two miles and a half with a very gentle fall, to its opening in the vale of Moran below. Hitherto, steam power has only been applied to the purpose here stated, the ore and rubbish being raised to the surface by horse power applied to a windlass.
But now, if you choose, you may accompany us to the mouth of the Dolores shaft, when, having garbed in miners' dresses, with heads well defended with a kind of felt helmet, we began our descent by ladders, accompanied by two of the English captains or overseers, and went down, down, down into the bowels of the earth. We passed the mouth of the adit; and, reaching the bottom of the mine, in our progress from one shaft to another, visited every part of the "workings." To gain and examine some of these required a certain degree of strength and resolution, from the defective and dangerous means of descent and exit. They were various in appearance, sometimes a shapeless excavation, and at other times wrought into the form of a gallery, according as the rock had been rich or poor in the ore, which is found in a quartz matrix, imbodied in the porphyry rock, of which the whole chain consists.
The system of mining struck me as peculiar. The common miners are, for the most part, of the Indian race. A few of them band together, to work in company, and take their equal shares of the proceeds. They are paid four rials a day by the company, and take, as their further perquisite, one eighth of the ore extracted.
On issuing from the mouth of the mine, the confederates themselves divide the lumps of ore, rich and poor, into eight heaps in the presence of one of the overseers, and that overseer determines which of the eight shall be given up to them. There are subterranean offices where the tools and candles are kept, and regularly served out and reclaimed, by an officer charged with that particular duty. Blasting and other operations are carried on as in other mines.
There are upon an average about three hundred Indians constantly thus engaged in the different parts of the mine; and the scenes presented in those gloomy caves, where they work by the red light of their tapers, with scarcely any covering, are far beyond my describing.
The ascent of the great shaft of the Terreros, from the depth of nearly a thousand feet below the surface, by means of a series of perpendicular ladders, thirty-two in number, was one of the most fatiguing exploits which I ever undertook. We were, nevertheless, highly gratified by our adventure. It may yet be mentioned that the ore is transported to Regla, where it goes through the necessary processes for being converted into bullion, after which it is carried to the city of Mexico, and coined into dollars at the government mint. In this form it is exported.
The lust for gold which possessed the souls of the conquerors, condemned the aborigines of these central portions of America, to a system of oppression and tyranny in times past, which is almost inconceivable. As there was no personal danger to which the quest after the precious metals might expose the Spaniard that he would not dare; so there was no depth of cruelty to which he would not descend to further his debasing passion. Of this the traditions of the Indians preserve many striking illustrations.
I give you one anecdote—whether told before or not, I do not know—which was related to me, with others of the kind, in the mining district where such tales abound.
In an Indian village, farther to the north, say the Indians, there lived in the old Spanish times a padre: a man of simple and retired habits, who laboured to convert and maintain the inhabitants in the Catholic faith.
He was beloved by the simple tribe among whom he was domesticated, and they did not fail to prove their good will by frequent presents of such trifles as they found were agreeable to him. They say that he was a great writer; and occasionally received from the Indians of his parish a small quantity of finely coloured dust which he made use of to dry his sermons and letters. Knowing how much the padre loved writing, they seldom returned from the mountains without bringing him some. It happened that once upon a time, he had occasion to write to a friend of his, living in the capital, who was a jeweller, and did not fail to use his sand box. In returning an answer, his knowing friend, to his great surprise, bantered him with his great riches, seeing that he dried the very ink on his paper with gold dust! This opened the simple padre's eyes. He sent for his Indian friends, and without divulging his newly acquired knowledge, begged them to get him more of the fine bright sand. They, nothing doubting, did so. The demon of avarice began to whisper into the old man's ear, and warm the blood of his heart. He begged for more, and received it—and then more—till they had furnished him with several pounds weight. All entreaty that they would show him the locality where this bright dust was gathered, was resisted with calmness and steadiness for a long time. Alternate cajoling and menace were employed with equally bad success. At length, wearied out, they told him that, as they loved him, and saw he was disturbed in mind, they would yield to his desire and show him the spot, on the condition that he would submit to be led to and from the place blindfold. To this he greedily consented, and was in course of time taken upon their shoulders and carried, whither he knew not, by many devious ways, up and down mountain and barranca, for many hours, into the recesses of the cordillera, and there, in a cave through which a stream issued from the breast of the mountain, they set him down and unbound him. They there showed him quantities of the gold dust intermingled with large lumps of virgin ore, while their spokesman addressed him, saying: "Father, we have brought you here at your urgent request, because you so much desired it, and because we loved you; take now what you want to carry away with you—let it be as much as you can carry, for here you must never hope to come again; you will never persuade us more!" The padre seemingly acquiesced, and after disposing as much of the precious metal about his person as he could contrive to carry, he submitted to be blindfolded, and was again taken in the arms of the Indians to be transported home. The tradition goes on to relate how the good curé, upon whom the cursed lust of gold had now seized, thought to outwit his conductors by untying his rosary, and occasionally dropping a bead on the earth. If he flattered himself that any hope existed of his being thus able to thread the blind maze through which he passed, and find the locality, one may imagine his chagrin, when once more arrived and set down at his own door, the first sight which met his uncovered eyes was the contented face of one of his Indian guides, and an outstretched hand, containing in its hollow the greater part of the grains of his rosary; while the guileless tongue of the finder expressed his simple joy at having been enabled to restore such a sacred treasure to the discomfited padre.
Entreaties and threats were now employed in vain. Gentle as the Indians were, they were not to be bent. Government was apprized of the circumstances, and commissioners were sent down to investigate the affair. The principal inhabitants were seized, and menace being powerless, torture, that last argument of the tyrant, was resorted to—all in vain, not a word could be wrung from them! Many were put to death; still their brethren remained mute; and the village became deserted under the systematic persecution of the oppressors. The most careful researches, repeatedly made from time to time by adventurers in search of the rich deposite, have all resulted in disappointment; and, to this day all that is known is, that somewhere in the recesses of those mountains lies the gold mine of La Navidad.
The following day, despite the temptation we felt to make various excursions in this interesting neighbourhood, we found ourselves necessitated to resume our route to the capital, twenty-three leagues distant. From the summit of the sierra, above the town of Real del Monte, a steep and rugged descent brings you to the level of the great plains which form the central land of Mexico; and over these we now proceeded slowly, in a suffocating heat. The first evening we reached a collection of mud huts and of plantations of nopal and maguey, disposed around a fine large picturesque church, called the San Matteo Grande.
The second day's ride of seven leagues, over a hilly country, increasing in interest at every step, brought us over the great dike of San Cristobal, to a village within three leagues of Mexico: and, at last, on the morning of the 18th, passing by the celebrated collegiate church of Guadaloupe, we quitted terra firma by the causeway from the north and half an hour afterward entered the gate of Mexico.
I would not here anticipate many observations upon the features and phenomena of the district now traversed, which may find a more suitable place in a future letter, but I cannot avoid observing, how, from the very moment of his descent from the mountains, the unusual scenes which open themselves before the traveller, prepare him as it were for that extraordinary and fascinating picture, which is presented to him on attaining the object of his toils.
The arid, glazed, and silent surface of those interminable levels, over which the whirling column of sand is seen stalking with its stately motion in the midst of a hot and stagnant atmosphere; and upon whose surface he continually sees painted the magic and illusory pictures of the mirage, with their transparent waters and reflected scenes: the huge dark piles of distant mountains, range behind range—the strange character of the colouring of the landscape far and near—the isolated volcanic cones springing up suddenly from the dead flats, and the lofty peaks of the great volcanoes far in the distance, gleaming in the blue sky with their snowy summits; the numerous churches, each with its dome and towers, mocking the deserted waste around, and the wretched groups of mud cottages in its vicinity, by its stately architecture; all this—seen through an atmosphere of such transcendent purity, that, vast as the expanded landscape seems, no just idea of its immensity can be formed from the calculations of the eye—imbodies forth, not perhaps the picturesque, nor perhaps the beautiful, but most assuredly the sublime.
And when approaching the main valley, the villages thicken around him, with their streets cheered and beautified, amid the general sterility, by groups of the graceful Peruvian pepper tree; and the roads are seen crowded by long strings of laden mules, and gay cavaliers—and the stupendous works of human design, harmonize with those of nature, and prepare him for the sight of the most extraordinary scenes in the world, whether we regard the works of men, or those of God, the artificer of all. And such is the valley and city of Mexico.
- ↑ Vara, or Mexican yard, is two feet nine inches English.