ing course, joins the river Lempa. This latter river has its sources in the mountains of Esquipulas, in the province of Chiquimula. It is at first an inconsiderable rivulet called the Sesecapa; but, in a course of more than forty leagues, it receives the tribute of a great number of small streams, and after being joined by the Guija, rolls an immense volume of water towards the Pacific, where it discharges a little to the westward of the bay of Jiquilisco, forming the boundary between the districts of San Vicente and San Miguel. The two lakes above-mentioned furnish to the whole district an inexhaustible supply of delicate fish. In the middle of that of Guija, is a large island most picturesquely clothed with wood, which gives cover to immense quantities of game. On this island are the ruins of some ancient buildings, called by the natives Tzacualpa (old village), which are of sufficient extent to convey the idea of its having been a place of some importance.* Two other lakes are mentioned by Juarros, those of Texacuangos and Gilopango, which, he says, afford various kinds of fine fish, more than enough for the markets of San Salvador and a great portion of the intendancy; but he gives no account of their situation or extent.

Almost the whole of the tract of country which we have been describing, lies either within the regions called the tierras calientes, or occupies the southern declivity of the cordillera, the crests of which, "bristling with volcanic cones," stretch along the coast of the Pacific from the lake of Nicaragua to the bay of Tehuantepec. The province of Costa Rica likewise

* In the interior of the woods on this island, Fuentes states, that it had been affirmed on very respectable authority, that satyrs had been frequently seen. Juarros dismisses the assertion as undeserving of attention; yet, it might be worth inquiry, whether these woods may not conceal a species of anthropomorphous ape, or savages,

contains volcanoes. But the most remarkable are in the inland province of Sacatepec, which, as comprising both the ancient and the modern capital, will now claim our attention. It forms part of the territory designated in some geographical works by the name of Guatimala Proper.*

VALLEY OF GUATIMALA.

The province of Sacatepec, being of limited extent, though unusually populous, is only an alcaldia-mayor.

* In a recent geographical work, Guatimala is with singular inaccuracy described as containing eight provinces, viz. Chiapa, Vera Paz, Guatimala Proper, Soconusco, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Veragua. The latter belongs to New Granada. It is hard to say what is meant to be included in Guatimala Proper. Its boundaries are said to be Vera Paz and Chiapa on the N.E. (an obvious blunder for N.W.); Honduras on the E.; Nicaragua on the S. E.; and Oaxaca on the N. and W. Oaxaca neither lies in that direction, nor can it touch on Guatimala Proper, as Soconusco divides them. No notice is taken in this enumeration, of the important intendancy of San Salvador. Guatimala Proper, therefore, would, according to this statement, comprise the four maritime provinces of Suchiltepec, Escuintla, Zonzonate, and San Salvador, or the whole coast between Soconusco and Nicaragua, and the five midland provinces ! It would more correctly be restricted to the three interior provinces, lying between Vera Paz on the north and Escuintla on the south, which composed the ancient Kachiquel or Guatimalan kingdom. In Alcedo's Dictionary a work considered as a high authority, Guatimala is described with similar inaccuracy. It is stated to contain 13 provinces, viz. Soconusco, Chiapa, Suquitepec, Vera Paz, Honduras, Icalcos, San Salvador, San Miguel, Nicaragua, Xeres de la Choluteca, Tegusigalpa and Costa Rica. These 13 provinces are said to be divided into 25 governments and alcaldias-mayores; and afterwards, the province of Guatimala, (which is not mentioned in the first enumeration,) is stated to be one of the three composing the kingdom. It is needless to point out the gross inaccuracies in this account. Icalcos is probably Izalco in Zonzonate, which does not appear to have

It lies between the 14th and 15th parallels of north latitude, and between long 90° 46′ and 91° 46′ W. It is not above 20 leagues in length, and nearly as much in breadth, and contains upwards of 115,600 inhabitants. It is the most southern of the five interior provinces, and, together with the alcaldias of Chimaltenango and Solola, formed the ancient kingdom of Kachiquel. Within these contracted limits, the country presents a singular variety of surface and of climate. The soil, Juarros says, is favourable to the productions of every temperature. The Vale of Guatimala, known also by the name of Pasuya, seems to bear an analogy to that series of immense plains which encircle the capital of Mexico. It consists of nine basins or valleys, of varying elevation, comprised within one vast circuit, which extends from the mountains of Quezaltenango on the west, to the maritime province of Chiquimula on the east. Three of these valleys, those of Chimaltenango, Xilopetec, and Alotenango, are comprised within the alcaldia-mayor of Chimaltenango: the other six, which form the alcaldia-mayor of Sacatepec, are the valleys of Guatimala, Mixco, Sacatepec, Las Vacas, Mesas de Petapa, and Canales. We are unacquainted with the different elevations of these valleys, as no Humboldt has hitherto explored this region; but there is reason to suppose that they will be found to vary not less remarkably in their climate and productions, than the four Mexican plateaus.* Juarros states, that the val

ever formed either an alcaldia-mayor or a corregimiento. The same remark applies to San Miguel.

*The valley of Toluca is 8,530 feet, the valley of Tenochtitlan 7,460 feet, the valley of Actopan 6,450 feet, and the valley of Istla 3,300 feet, above the level of the sea. They differ as much in their climate as in their elevation, each being adapted to a different species of cultivation. The last, which is the least elevated, admits of the growth of the sugar

ley of Chimaltenango enjoys a cold, dry, but healthy climate, and that it is of so exactly proportioned a level, that the drainage waters of one half of the town of Santa Ana descend into the Atlantic, and those of the other half into the Pacific. The soil produres wheat, maize, and European fruits. The vicinity of Almolonga and San Gaspar in Sacatepec, used to supply the capital with pulque or maguey wine, until the governor, Andres de los Navas, prohibited the traffic under pain of excommunication; while, in the valley of Xilotepec, the sugar-cane is cultivated.

The

That which is properly called the Valley of Guatimala* occupies nearly the centre of the chain of plateaus, having the valleys of Chimaltenango and Xilotepec on the north, that of Mixco on the east, that of Petapa on the south, and that of Alotenango on the west. Old Guatimala stands nearly in the centre of the plain, encompassed by eleven suburbs, which are environed by no fewer than thirtyone villages, the most distant of which is not two leagues from the city: some of these are on the plain, others on the declivities of the mountains. present inhabitants are, it seems, indebted to the Spanish conquerors for this succession of villages. It appears from the records of the cabildo, that soon after the city was founded, a distribution was made, in lots, of the lands in the valley. It being found, however, that some of the worthy citizens had, in the scramble, got possession of larger portions than fell to their share, while others had none, in a meeting of the cabildo, held in April 1528, it was determined to equalise the distribution by dividing the whole valley into lots called caballerias and peonerias; the former,

cane; the third is adapted for that of cotton; the second, for the cultivation of European grain; and the first, for agaveplantations.-HUMBOLDT, Pol. Essay, vol. i. p. 56.

* Its ancient name was the valley of Tuerto or Panchoi.

1,000 paces long by 600 in breadth; the latter, half that quantity. To a horse-soldier was assigned a caballeria; to a foot-soldier, a peoneria. These lots were laid out by the proprietors, some as maize-fields, others as gardens, or for other agricultural labours. "At this period," continues Juarros, "there were great numbers of the unreclaimed natives wandering about in the forests and on the mountains, without any kind of subjection or government, who were very detrimental to those who had already been converted. The Spaniards, desirous of applying a remedy to this evil, began to devise means of collecting them together, and establishing them in small villages. This design was still further promoted by various edicts from the king, particularly one dated June 10, 1540, which especially ordered that all methods should be tried to induce the Indians to live in societies and form villages, to accomplish more effectually the important object of civilising and instructing them. As the wild Indians disregarded all the friendly offers that were made them, and shewed but little inclination to listen to the preaching of the missionaries, the governor gave permission to hunt them out of their retreats. In consequence, the officers, each taking ten or twelve soldiers, sallied forth on the darkest nights, conducted by expert guides, to an Indian hovel, where they frequently seized six, eight, or ten Indians, whom they brought home and placed on their maize-plantations. and other works, under the superintendence of careful persons. These excursions were repeated until sixty, eighty, two hundred, three hundred, or even greater numbers were got together and formed into a village, on which was usually bestowed the name of the saint of the proprietor's peculiar devotion, with the addition of the surname of his family. Thus, Luis de Bivar established the village called San Gaspar Bivar; Ignacio de Bobadilla, that of Santa Catarina