Is it by mere accident that this map, so bad in other respects, places Mexico at 278° 26' of longitude, while the same capital is fixed at 270° of longitude, in the map which bears the title of Mapa de distancias de los lugares principales de Nueva España*, engraved by the Jesuits at la Puebla de los Angeles, in 1755 ? I found at Rome, Provincia Mexicana apud Indos ordinis Carmelitarum (erecta 1588) Romæ 1738. Mexico is there placed in 20° 28′ of latitude! Father Pichardo de San Felipe Neri, a very well informed ecclesiastic, who possesses the small quadrant of the Abbé Chappe, was so kind as to furnish me with two manuscript maps of New Spain, the one by Velasquez, and the other by Alzate. They both differ from the map engraved by the academy of Paris, and are curious, as they exhibit the situation of several remarkable mining places. Environs de Mexico; a map of Siguenza, republished by Alzate in 1786. Another map of the valley of Mexico is to be found annually in the almanac, entitled la Guia de Foresteros (the Stranger's Guide); it is by M. Mascaro. Neither these two plans, nor the one published by Lopez in 1785, exhibit the lakes in their actual situations. Map of distances of the principal places of New Spain. Trans. In the map of Lopez, the degrees of longitude are marked on the meridian, a strange mistake for a geographer to the king! Carte detaillée des environs du doctor, du Rio Moctezuma (which receives the waters of the canal of Huehuetoca), et de Zimapan par M. Mascaro*. The environs of Durango, of Toluca, and of Temascaltepec, are to be found carefully represented in plans constructed by M. Juan Jose Oteyza. Carte manuscrite de tout le royaume de la Nouvelle Espagna depuis le 16° au 40° de latitude, par Don Antonio Forcada y la Plaza, 1787 †. This map appears to be ably constructed. Those who know the localities entertain the same opinion of the manuscript map of the audience of Guadalaxara, drawn up by M. Forcada in 1790. Carte du pays compris entre le meridien de Mexico et celui de Vera Cruz, dressée par Don Diego Garcia Conde, lieutenant colonel and director of highways. This manuscript map is founded on the joint observations of M. Costanzo and M. Garcia Conde. It is a series of triangles * Minute map of the environs of the Doctor, of the Rio Moctezuma, and of Zimapan, by M. Mascaro. Trans. + Manuscript map of the whole kingdom of New Spain, by Don Antonia Forcada y la Plaza, 1787. Trans. Map of the country comprised between the meridians of Mexico and Vera Cruz, constructed by Don Diego Garcia Conde. Trans. measured by the graphometer and compass. This work was executed with great care; and it exhibits, above all, a great minuteness in the part which includes the slope of the Cordilléra from Xalappa and Orizaba to Vera Cruz. Carte des routes qui vont de Mexico a la Puebla, au nord et au sud de la Sierra Nevada*, drawn up by order of the viceroy the Marquis de Branciforte, by Don Miguel de Costanzo. Plan manuscrit des environs de Vera Cruzt.It extends to Perote, and indicates at the same time the difference of the roads projected from Xalappa to Vera Cruz. Carte manuscrite du terrain contenu entre Vera Cruz et le Rio Xamappa, 17961. Carte manuscrite de la province de Xalappa, avec les environs detaillés de l'Antigua et de la Nueca Vera Cruz ||. Carte manuscrite de la province d'Oaxaca et de toute la côte, depuis Acapulco a Tehuantepec dressée par Don Pedro de la Laguna §.—This *Map of the roads from Mexico to la Puebla, to the north and south of the Sierra Nevada. Trans. + Manuscript plan of the environs of Vera Cruz. Trans. Manuscript map of the country between Vera Cruz and the Rio Xamappa, 1796. Trans. Manuscript map of the province of Xalappa, with a detail. of the environs of Antigua and la Nueva Vera Cruz. Trans. § Manuscript map of the province of Oaxaca and the whole coast from Acapulco to Tehuantepec, drawn up by Don Pedro de la Laguna. Trans. map is founded on eleven positions, which are as serted to have been determined in latitude, by direct observations. As to the Rio Huasacualco, celebrated from the project of a canal to unite the South Sea with the Atlantic Ocean; I have assigned to it the course which I found traced in the plans of the two engineer officers, Don Augustin Cramer, and Don Miguel del Corral. These plans are preserved in the archives of the viceroyalty of Mexico. Mapa anonimo de la Sierra Gorda, dans la province de Nuevo Santander *, from the 21° to the 29° of latitude, a manuscript map painted on vellum, and ornamented with figures of Indian savages. It is very exact for the environs of Sotto la Marina and of Camargo. The course of the rivers contained between the Rio del Norte and the mouth of the Rio Sabino was copied from a manuscript map which General Wilkinson communicated to me at Washington, on his return from Louisiana. Mapa de la Nueva Gallizia; a manuscript map constructed in 1794 by M. Pagaza, from his own observations and the map of M. Forcada. Carte de la province de Sonora et de la Nouvelle Biscayet, dedicated to M. d'Azanza, and con * Anonymous map of the Sierra Gorda, in the province of Nueva Santander. Trans. Map of the province of Sonora and of New Biscay. Trans. structed at Cadiz, by the engineer Don Juan de Pagaza. This manuscript map, four feet in length, is very minute as to the mountainous places, where the savage Indians conceal themselves for excursions and attacks on travellers. It is also very minute as to the environs of the Passo del Norte, and particularly as to the desert territory called the Bolson de Mapimi. Carte manuscrite de la Sonora *, from the 27° to the 36° of latitude, dedicated to Colonel Don Jose Tienda de Cuervo. The author of this map appears to have been a German Jesuit, who had resided in the Pimeria alta, that is to say, in the most northern part of the province of Sonora. Carte manuscrite de la Pimeria altaf.-It extends to the Rio Gila. The famous ruins of the Casas grandes are placed there at 36° 20° of latitude, an error of three degrees! Mapa de la California, a manuscript map of Fathers Francisco Garces and Pedro Font, 1777. It has also been engraved at Mexico, but with an error of a diminution of three minutes for all the latitudes. It is interesting for la Pimeria alta and the Rio Colorado. Carta geografica de la Costa occidental de la California que se discubrió en los años 1769 y 1775, por Don Francisco de Bodega y Quadra y Don Jose Canizares, desde los 17 hasta los 58 * Manuscript map of Sonora. Trans. + Manuscript map of the Pimeria alta. VOL. I. |