MEXICO CONTINUED.

Narrative of Mr. Pike's Journey from Santa Fé to Montelovez.

Mr. Pike and his men were escorted from Santa Fé by a Spanish officer, and a troop of soldiers. On Thursday, the 5th of March, they arrived at a village called St. Domingo. The inhabitants of this place were about a thousand in number; and the chiefs were distinguished by canes, with silver heads and black tassels. Mr. Pike was permitted to visit the church; and he was much astonished to find, enclosed in mud-brick walls, many rich paintings, and a statue of the patron saint, as large as life, and elegantly ornamented with gold and silver.

On the ensuing day, the party marched down the eastern side of the Rio del Norte, the snow being still a foot deep. Near the village of Albuquerque, they observed that the inhabitants were beginning to open the canals, for the purpose of letting in the water of the river, to fertilize the lands. They saw men, women, and children engaged in the joyful labour, which was to crown, with rich abundance, their future harvest, and to ensure them plenty for the ensuing year. A little below Albuquerque, the Rio del Norte was four hundred yards wide, but not more than three feet deep.

In their journey southward, they passed through several villages. One of these, called Sibilleta, was in the form of a regular square, appearing, on the outside, like an immense mud-wall. All the doors and windows faced the interior of the square; and it was the neatest and most regular village Mr. Pike had ever seen.

Beyond this village, the party met a caravan, consisting of three hundred men, escorted by an officer and thirty-five or forty troops, who were proceeding, with about fifteen thousand sheep, to the different provinces. They afterwards met a caravan of fifty men, and about two hundred horses, laden with traffic, for New Mexico. On the 21st of March they arrived at the Passo del Norte: the road now led them through a rough and mountainous country; and passing through Carracal, and some other villages, they reached Chihuahua on the 2d of April.

They were conducted into the presence of the commanding-officer of the place, before whom Mr. Pike underwent an examination, as he had previously done at Santa Fé. He was treated with great apparent respect, and was offered both assistance and money. He afterwards visited in the houses of some of the principal inhabitants. At the house of the governor, when wine was put on the table, after dinner, the company was entertained with songs in the French, Italian, Spanish, and English languages.

There are, at Chihuahua, and in its vicinity, fifteen mines; thirteen of silver, one of gold, and one of copper; the furnaces for all of which are in the suburbs of the town, and present, except on Sundays, volumes of smoke, rising in every direction. Chihuahua is surrounded by piles of cinders, from ten to fifteen feet in height. In the public square, stand the church, the royal treasury, the town-house, and the richest shops; and, at the western extremity of the town, are two other churches, an hospital, and the military academy. About a mile south of the town, is a large aqueduct. The principal church of Chihuahua is a most superb edifice: its whole front is covered with statues of saints; figures of different saints are set in niches of the wall; and the windows, doors, &c. are ornamented with sculpture. The decorations in the interior are said to be immensely rich. On the south of the town is a public walk, formed by three rows of trees, the branches of which nearly form a junction over the heads of the passengers below. At different distances, there are seats for persons to repose themselves upon; and at each end of the walks, are circular seats, on, which, in the evenings, the inhabitants amuse themselves in singing to the music of guitars. This city contains about eleven thousand inhabitants.

After a residence, in Chihuahua, of somewhat more than three weeks, Mr. Pike received an intimation that he and his men would be escorted out of the country. Accordingly, on the 28th of April, he was accompanied, towards the frontier, by a Spanish officer. Near Chihuahua they passed a small ridge of mountains, and then encamped in a hollow. At the distance of about fifty miles they reached the river Florida; on the banks of which are many important settlements, and well-timbered lands. One of the plantations on this river, extended thirty leagues; and had been valued at three hundred thousand dollars.

The country through which they now passed was mountainous. On the 11th of May, they reached Mauperne, a village situated at the foot of the mountains, and near which eight or nine valuable copper-mines were worked; but the mass of the people were in a starving and wretched state. The proprietor of the mines, however, gave the travellers an elegant repast.

They pursued their march three miles further, to a station, on a little stream, which flowed through gardens, and formed a terrestrial paradise. Here they remained all day, and at night slept under the shade of the fig-trees. In the morning, Mr. Pike was awakened by the singing of the birds, and the perfume of the trees around. This place, however, was no doubt rendered the more interesting to the travellers, in consequence of their having previously suffered much inconvenience from want of water.

On the 20th, they arrived at the Hacienda of Polloss, a handsome place, at which the Marquis de San Miguel, a wealthy nobleman, who possessed extensive property in this part of New Spain, usually passed the summer. The Hacienda of Polloss is a square enclosure of about three hundred feet: the building is no more than one story high; but some of the apartments are very elegantly furnished. In the centre of the square is a fountain, which throws out water from eight spouts. There is also, at this place, a handsome church, which, with its ornaments, is said to have cost at least twenty thousand dollars. The inhabitants are about two thousand in number.

Montelovez, situated on the banks of a small stream, is about a mile in length. It has two public squares, seven churches, some powder-magazines, mills, a royal hospital, and barracks. The number of inhabitants is about three thousand five hundred. This city is ornamented with public walks, columns, and fountains; and is one of the handsomest places in New Spain[3].

South-west from Montelovez stands Durango, the chief city of the province of Biscay. In the vicinity of this place are many rich and valuable mines; and the soil is so fertile as to produce abundant crops of wheat, maize, and fruit. The climate is mild and healthy. Durango contains about twelve thousand inhabitants; and has four convents and three churches.

A Description of the City of Mexico.

This magnificent city is the capital of New Spain, and the residence of the viceroy. In its situation it possesses many important advantages. Standing on an isthmus, which is washed on one side by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the other by the South-sea, it might possess a powerful influence over the political events which agitate the world. A king of Spain, resident at this capital, might, in six weeks, transmit his orders to Europe, and, in three weeks, to the Philippine islands in Asia. There are, however, difficulties to be encountered, arising from the unfavourable state of the coasts, and the want of secure harbours. During several months in the year, these coasts are visited by tempests. The hurricanes, also, which occur in the months of September, October, and March, and which sometimes last for three or four successive days, are very tremendous.

Mexico was originally founded in the lake of Tezcuco; and, at the time when the Spaniards first invaded America, it was a magnificent capital. Cortez, describing it in the year 1520, says, that it was in the midst of a salt-water lake, which had its tides, like the ocean; and that, from the city to the continent, there was a distance of two leagues. Four dikes or embankments, each two lances broad, led to the city. The principal streets were narrow: some of them had navigable canals running along them, furnished with bridges, wide enough for ten men on horseback, to pass at the same time. The market-place was surrounded with an immense portico, under which were sold all sorts of merchandise, eatables, ornaments made of gold, silver, lead, pewter, precious stones, bones, shells, and feathers; earthenware, leather, and spun cotton. In some places were exposed to sale hewn stone, tiles, and timber for building; in others game; and, in others, roots, garden-stuff, and fruit. There were houses where barbers shaved the head, with razors made of obsidian, a volcanic substance not much unlike bottle-glass; and there were others, resembling our apothecary-shops, where prepared medicines, unguents, and plasters were sold. The market abounded with so many things, that Cortez was unable to name them all. To avoid confusion, every species of merchandise was sold in a separate place. In the middle of the great square was a house, which he calls L'Audiencia; and in which ten or twelve persons sate every day, to determine any disputes which might arise respecting the sale of goods.

The city was divided into four quarters: this division is still preserved, in the limits assigned to the quarters of St. Paul, St. Sebastian, St. John, and St. Mary; and the present streets have, for the most part, the same direction as the old ones. But what gives to this city a peculiar and distinctive character is, that it is entirely on the continent, between the extremities of the two lakes of Tezcuco and Chalco. This has been occasioned by the gradual draining of the great lake, and the consequent drying up of the waters around the city. Hence Mexico is now two miles and half from the banks of the former, and five miles and half from those of the latter.

Adorned with numerous teocallis, (or temples,) like so many Mahometan steeples, surrounded with water and embankments, founded on islands covered with verdure, and receiving, hourly, in its streets, thousands of boats, which vivified the lake, the ancient Mexico, according to the accounts of the first conquerors, must have resembled some of the cities of Holland, China, or the Delta of Lower Egypt.

As reconstructed by the Spaniards, it exhibits, at the present day, perhaps a less vivid, though a more august and majestic appearance, than the ancient city. With the exception of Petersburg, Berlin, Philadelphia, and some quarters of Westminster, there does not exist a place of the same extent, which can be compared to the capital of New Spain, for the uniform level of the ground on which it stands, for the regularity and breadth of the streets, and the extent of its public places. The architecture is, for the most part, in a pure style; and many of the edifices are of a very beautiful structure. The exterior of the houses is not loaded with ornaments. Two sorts of hewn stone, give to the Mexican buildings an air of solidity, and sometimes even of magnificence. There are none of those wooden balconies and galleries to be seen, which so much disfigure all the European cities in both the Indies. The balustrades and gates are all of iron, ornamented with bronze; and the houses, instead of roofs, have terraces, like those in Italy, and other southern countries of the old continent.

Mexico has, of late, received many additional embellishments. An edifice, for the School of Mines, which was built at an expence of more than £.120,000 sterling, would adorn the principal places of Paris or London. Two great palaces have been constructed by Mexican artists, pupils of the Academy of Fine Arts. One of these has a beautiful interior, ornamented with columns.

But, notwithstanding the progress of the arts, within the last thirty years, it is much less from the grandeur and beauty of the monuments, than from the breadth and straightness of the streets; and much less from its edifices, than from its uniform regularity, its extent and position, that the capital of New Spain attracts the admiration of Europeans. M. De Humboldt had successively visited, within a very short space of time, Lima, Mexico, Philadelphia, Washington, Paris, Rome, Naples, and the largest cities of Germany; and notwithstanding unavoidable comparisons, of which several might be supposed disadvantageous to the capital of Mexico, there was left on his mind, a recollection of grandeur, which he principally attributed to the majestic character of its situation, and the beauty of the surrounding scenery.

In fact, nothing can present a more rich and varied appearance than the valley of Mexico, when, in a fine summer morning, a person ascends one of the towers of the cathedral, or the adjacent hill of Chapoltepec. A beautiful vegetation surrounds this hill. From its summit, the eye wanders over a vast plain of richly-cultivated fields, which extend to the very feet of colossal mountains, that are covered with perpetual snow. The city appears as if washed by the waters of the lake of Tezcuco, whose basin, surrounded by villages and hamlets, brings to mind the most beautiful lakes of the mountains of Switzerland. Large avenues of elms and poplars lead, in every direction, to the capital; and two aqueducts, constructed over arches of great elevation, cross the plain, and exhibit an appearance equally agreeable and interesting.

Mexico is remarkable for its excellent police. Most of the streets have broad pavements; and they are clean, and well lighted. Water is, every where, to be had; but it is brackish, like the water of the lake. There are, however, two aqueducts, by which the city receives fresh-water, from distant springs. Some remains of the dikes or embankments, are still to be seen: they, at present, form great paved causeys, across marshy ground; and, as they are considerably elevated, they possess the double advantage, of admitting the passage of carriages, and restraining the overflowings of the lake. This city has six principal gates; and is surrounded by a ditch, but is without walls.

The objects which chiefly attract the attention of strangers, are 1. The Cathedral, which is partly in the Gothic style of architecture, and has two towers, ornamented with pilasters and statues, of very beautiful symmetry. 2. The Treasury, which adjoins to the palace of the viceroys: from this building, since the beginning of the 16th century, more than 270 millions sterling, in gold and silver coin, have been issued. 3. The Convents. 4. The Hospital, or rather the two united hospitals, of which one maintains six hundred, and the other eight hundred children and old people. 5. The Acordada, a fine edifice, of which the prisons are spacious and well aired. 6. The School of Mines. 7. The Botanical Garden, in one of the courts of the viceroy's palace. 8. The edifices of the University and the Public Library, which, however, are very unworthy of so great and ancient an establishment. 9. The Academy of Fine Arts.

Mexico is the see of an archbishop, and contains twenty-three convents for monks, and fifteen for nuns. Its whole population is estimated at one hundred and forty thousand persons.

On the north-side of the city, near the suburbs, is a public walk, which forms a large square, having a basin in the middle, and where eight walks terminate.

The markets of Mexico are well supplied with eatables; particularly with roots and fruit. It is an interesting spectacle, which may be enjoyed every morning at sunrise, to see these provisions, and a great quantity of flowers, brought by Indians, in boats, along the canals. Most of the roots are cultivated on what are called chinampas, or "floating gardens." These are of two sorts: one moveable, and driven about by the winds, and the other fixed and attached to the shore. The first alone merit the denomination of floating-gardens.

Simple lumps of earth, in lakes or rivers, carried away from the banks, have given rise to the invention of chinampas. The floating-gardens, of which very many were found by the Spaniards, when they first invaded Mexico, and of which many still exist in the lake of Chalco, were rafts formed of reeds, rushes, roots, and branches of underwood. The Indians cover these light and well connected materials with a black mould, which becomes extremely fertile. The chinampas sometimes contain the cottage of the Indian, who acts as guard for a group of floating gardens. When removed from one side of the banks to the other, they are either towed or are pushed with long poles. Every chinampa forms an oblong square about three hundred feet in length, and eighteen or nineteen feet broad. Narrow ditches, communicating symmetrically between them, separate these squares. The mould fit for cultivation rises about three feet above the surface of the surrounding water. On these chinampas are cultivated beans, peas, pimento, potatoes, artichokes, cauliflowers, and a great variety of other vegetables. Their sides are generally ornamented with flowers, and sometimes with hedges of rose-bushes. The promenade in boats, around the chinampas of the river Istracalco, is one of the most agreeable amusements that can be enjoyed in the environs of Mexico. The vegetation is extremely vigorous, on a soil which is continually refreshed with water.

The Hill of Chapoltepec, near Mexico, was chosen by the young viceroy Galvez, as the site of a villa for himself and his successors. The castle has been finished externally, but the apartments were not completed when M. de Humboldt was here. This building cost the king of Spain more than £.62,000 sterling.

With respect to the two great lakes, Tezcuco and Chalco, which are situated in the valley of Mexico, one is of fresh water, and the other salt. They are separated by a narrow range of mountains, which rise in the middle of the plain; and their waters mingle together, in a strait between the hills. On both these lakes there are numerous towns and villages, which carry on their commerce with each other in canoes, without touching the continent.

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