ments of the agave; ropes, cord, twine, and thread, matting, bagging, saddle-cloths, &c. Here, as in every part of Mexico, the venders were satisfied with one-half their asking prices, and frequently with one-third part of what they, the instant before, had sworn on their consciences the article was worth.-(Poinsett's Notes on Mexico, p. 242.)

From its situation, this city is the natural depôt of the trade of Tampico with the northern and western states. The foreign trade, at present, is almost wholly in the hands of natives of old Spain or of the United States. The European imports consist, principally, of French brandies, wines, silks, and cloths; English hardware, and printed cotton goods, with some mantas or ordinary cotton manufactures from the United States. In addition to its foreign trade, San Luis Potosi supplies the neighboring states. of Leon and Coahuila with home-made goods of various kinds. The town abounds in tailors, hatters, leather-dressers.-(Ward's Mexico, p. 227, II.) The people are better dressed, and beggars are fewer, than in almost any other part of Mexico. The mines in the neighborhood have long ceased to be wrought, from exhaustion of the ores; they were, however, formerly very productive. A college, founded by voluntary subscription, and in a flourishing state, affords gratuitous instruction to poor students, in Latin, jurisprudence, theology, and constitutional rights. The city was founded in 1536.-(Poinsett-Ward.)

CATORCE and SAN JUAN, in the mining districts, are situated in a rugged country in the northern part of the state. The mines of Catorce are equalled only in production by the rich mineral regions of Guanaxuato. Charcas, Guadalupe, &c., are the other principal towns in San Luis Potosi.

THE STATE OF ZACATECAS,

ONE of the central divisions of the republic, lies west of San Luis Potosi ; east of Xalisco and Aguascalentes; south of Durango, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, and north of Guanaxuato. Its area is about 19,950 square miles, and its population 273,575 inhabitants. "As a mining district it differs materially from the neighboring state of Guanaxuato, for, in lieu of one great mother vein, it has three lodes, nearly equal in importance with many inferior lodes; upon all of which nearly 3,000 pits or shafts have been opened.”—(Ward's Mexico, II. 323.) In the north and east the country is divided into vast breeding estates, and is very thinly-peopled. The state has no manufactures, except at the capital; the population living by mining and rural industry.

ZACATECAS, the capital, is situated in a narrow valley, and is distant from Mexico, in a north-west direction, 290 miles. The population is said to be from 22 to 25,000 inhabitants, and that of its suburb, Veta Grande, 6,000. Viewed from a distance, its numerous churches and convents give it an imposing appearance; but it streets are narrow and filthy. Its markets are abundantly supplied with fish, fruits, vegetables, &c. This is one of the chief mining cities of Mexico, and has a mint, which some years ago gave employment to 300 men. The machinery in the mint is of brass, and was made by native mechanics; it is ponderous and ill-constructed;

still, however, it answers the purpose, and large sums are annually coined at the establishment. Gunpowder and some cotton fabrics are manufactured in this city.

Next to the capital, the principal towns are SOMBRerete, Fresnillo, JEREZ, PINOS, &c., which, according to Mr. Ward, have a population of from 12 to 18,000 each.

This state is noted for the active part the inhabitants took in securing the independence of their country, and for the jealous care it still exerts over the liberties of its people. It was the scene of many of the first struggles of the revolution.

THE STATE OF GUANAXUATO.

THIS state is the great centre of the mining districts of Mexico. Its surface is very irregular, and in some parts, especially in the north, mountainous. It abounds in mineral wealth, and constitutes the most opulent of the Mexican states, excepting the state of Mexico itself. Much of the property in this as well as the neighboring districts, belongs to the great mining families resident in Guanaxuato. Tillage land, yielding rich crops of maize, wheat, barley, &c.; orchards and gardens constitute the chief portions of the state. Area, 8,000 square miles. Population upwards of 500,000.

GUANAXUATO, the capital, in the Sierra de Santa Rosa, 6,836 feet above the level of the sea, and in the very centre of the richest mining districts of the whole country, lies in latitude 21° 0′ 15′′ N. and longitude 100° 23′ 53′′ W. The town is irregularly built, and the ascents and descents very steep. The open places cannot be called squares, nor can they boast of being of any particular mathematical design. The whole city, indeed, is distributed here and there, wherever an opening in the mountains permits of the erection of buildings. The churches, public buildings, and many of the private residences of the wealthy, are truly magnificent, and like the old Norman castles are often built in almost inaccessible positions.

This town was entirely created by the mines which surround it. In the vicinity of some of them are also little pueblos, as Valenciana, Rayas, Serena, &c., which may be considered as suburbs. These mines were first wrought in 1548, but it is only during the last hundred years that the mines of Guanaxuato have become famous. The veta-madre or great "mother vein" is composed of several parallel veins running N. W. and S. E. for rather more than five leagues, within which distance more than 100 shafts have been opened. According to Humboldt, this vein has furnished more than one fourth of the whole silver of Mexico, and a sixth part of the produce of America! Between the years 1766 and 1839, Mr. Ward says that it supplied bullion to the value of $225,935,736. The mine of Valencia alone, at the present day, yields an annual average of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 net. The greater part of these mines are now worked by the " AngloMexican Mining Association."

These districts suffered greatly during the revolutionary struggle, and the produce has greatly decreased since that period; whether owing to exhaustion or other causes is not told. Both Hidalgo and Mina did immense

damage to the Spanish interests in Guanaxuato, from which they have never recovered; and though every exertion has been made to regain their former position, they retain but the shadow of their ancient importance.

Salamanca, on the north bank of the Rio Lerma, is also a town of some importance; also Zelaya and Irapuato. The former contains from 15 to 20,000 inhabitants.

THE STATE OF AGUAS-CALIENTES.

THIS is a new state, formed from portions of the states of Zacatecas, Jalisco and Guanaxuato, and is perhaps one of the most flourishing in the republic, in arts, manufactures and commerce. Population, 69,603.

AGUAS CALIENTES, latitude 22° N. and longitude 101° 45′ W., is situated in a fertile district, has a fine climate, and is one of the handsomest of the Mexican towns. Being intersected by several of the great roads, it has an active and considerable commerce. It is celebrated for its great cloth manufactory, which employed in 1835 three hundred and fifty hands, (Ward's Mexico,) and the hot springs in its vicinity, whence it derives its name. Its population may amount to 18 or 20,000.

The surrounding country is thickly peopled and dotted over with numerous towns and villages. A branch of the Rio Grande de Santiago, the outlet of Lake Chapala, penetrates this country from the south, but from its smallness can be of little use to commerce.

THE STATE OF JALISCO, OR XALISCO;
(Otherwise Guadalazara, or Guadalajara.)

THE position of this state on the Pacific, and the advantages it gains by being traversed by the Rio Grande de Santiago, through its whole breadth, gives it an elevated station among the states of Mexico. On the north it is bounded by Sinaloa and Durango; east by Zacatecas and Aguas-Calientes ; and south by Mechoacan. Its area is estimated at 73,000 square miles, and its population at 679,000. Colima, 9,000 feet high, forming the western extremity of the volcanic transverse mountains, is within the territories of this state, and is itself an active volcano, throwing out ashes and flames continually. The mines, and especially that of Bolaños, are among the richest in Mexico. The people of Xalisco are a very energetic class, and have progressed rapidly in commerce, agriculture, and the arts. Perhaps, however, these manifestations depend much on the natural advantages they enjoy.

In no part of Mexico have republican principles made such progress as in this state. It was here that the revolution was brought to maturity; that the rise and fall of Iturbide was effected, and the law, banishing Spaniards from the country, passed the senate. The government has shown a laudable desire to promote education; Lancasterian schools are established throughout the state, and it is made a qualification of voters to read and

write. No part of Mexico has opposed more energetically the encroachments of the church, and no people are more worthy to enjoy their hardearned liberties.

GUADALAXARA is the capital, and seat of government. It is situated on a rich and extensive plain, on the south bank of the Rio Santiago, 130 miles from its mouth, in latitude 21° 9′ north, and longitude 103° 2′ 15′′ west. The population, which, in 1803, was only 19,500, had, in 1823, reached 46,800, and is now, probably, 60,000; so that it is, in point of population, the third city in the republic. The streets are handsomely laid out, and many of the houses elegant. There are fourteen squares. In the Plaza de Armas are the government-house, where the legislature sits, the cathedral, and the Portales de Commercio. The public promenades are ample, and the markets, shops, and other civic conveniences, are on a large scale. The college, maintained at the public expense, is a noble establishment, and has contributed much to the enlightenment of the people. The city is supplied with water from the Cerro de Col, three leagues distant. Many coarser kinds of manufacture are carried on within the city, which has long been celebrated for its leather and earthenware. Guadalajara was, under the Spaniards, the capital of the intendancy of the same name, and the seat of an Audiencia Real.

TEPEC, also on the Rio Grande, about 18 leagues west of the capital, is a small town, situated in a fine open plain, and is very healthy. It is a celebrated resort for the inhabitants of San Blas during the sickly season. Population, about 4,000 or 5,000.

SAN BLAS, at the mouth of the Rio Grande de Santiago, is rather a roadstead than a harbor; and is much exposed to the winds from the south and west. It is extremely unhealthy; but in the wet season, which is the most sickly, the people retire to Tepec, a small town some distance inland. The trade here carried on is very limited; and ships, finding better harbors at Guayamas and Mazatlan, generally make for those ports in preference to San Blas; and the foreign goods, which, in the time of the Spaniards, were entered here, are now brought over land by way of San Luis Potosi and Mexico.

THE TERRITORY OF COLIMA.

THIS territory occupies a few square miles around the city of Colima, and extends southward to the Pacific Ocean. Excepting the Volcano of Colima and the Paps of Tejupan, the surface presents an uninterrupted level; is very fertile, but equally unhealthy with the other sea-board dis

tricts.

COLIMA-the city-is on partially elevated ground, and out of the reach of the climactic effects of the latitude. It is a city of some 30,000 inhabitants, and lies on the east bank of the river of the same name.

The ports of Tejupan and Xala are within this territory, but are little known to external commerce. They have mere roadsteads, and the towns, in population and wealth, are insignificant.

The attributions of this territory are little known in this country, but it is supposed to exercise its political rights along with the neighboring state of Jalisco. It is not otherwise represented in the federal senate.

THE STATE OF MECHOACAN, OR VALLADOLID,

Is situated immediately west of the State of Mexico, and has a small front on the coast of the Pacific. It is one of the larger states, and occupies an area of 22,468 square miles. The population is estimated at nearly 500,000. This state formed with Jalisco and Colima, the ancient "Kingdom of Mechoacan," the name of which signifies the country abounding in fish, and was independent of the sway of the Aztec Emperors. The country contains several volcanoes, among which is the famous Jorullo; hot and sulphureous springs; mines, and peaks of mountains white with perpetual snow. It is, notwithstanding, one of the most agreeable and fertile regions that can possibly be conceived Numerous lakes, forests and cascades diversify the prospect. The mountains covered with wood, leave a space for meadows and fields. The air is healthy, except on the coast, where the Indians alone can resist the humid and suffocating heat.

Of all the Americans, the natives of this country were the most dexterous marksmen with the bow and arrow. The kings of Mechoacan formerly received their principal revenues in red feathers, of which carpets and other articles were manufactured.

VALLADOLID, the ancient Mechoacan and present capital of the state, a very pretty town, and enlivened by a considerable commerce, enjoys a delicious climate, and contains a population of 25,000 inhabitants. 'I know of few places," says Mr. Ward, "the approach to which (from the north) is so tedious as that to Valladolid. For more than two hours you see the city apparently below you, while the road continues to wind among the surrounding trees. At length a rapid descent conducts you to the plain, where a long causeway, built across a marsh, forms the entrance to the town. The suburbs are poor and insignificant, but the high street is fine, and the cathedral, standing alone and open, has a very imposing effect. The view of the town from the Mexico side is beautiful; gardens and orchards form the foreground; while the lofty aqueduct, erected towards the end of the last century, the gorgeous churches, and a bold range of mountains behind, fill up the remaining space. Nearly all the public edifices, not immediately connected with the government, are due to the munificence of the bishops, most of whom have contributed to enrich or adorn the town. The cathedral, hospitals and aqueduct are all the works of the church. The first is a magnificent building, and wealthy, though despoiled of much of its treasures during the revolution."—(Ward's Mexico, ii. 374.) Valladolid has a handsome public promenade; and its climate is temperate, as it stands nearly 6,400 feet above the level of the sea. Iturbide, the short-lived emperor of Mexico, was a native of this city.

The village of Tzinzontzan, on the picturesque shores of the Lake of Patzcuaro, was the residence of the ancient kings of Mechoacan.

The Rio Balsas, which separates this state on the south from that of Mexico, is a fine river, emptying into the Pacific a little below the port of Zacatula. It has a number of fine tributaries, all rising on the western slope of the table land, but none capable of ship navigation. The port above referred to is not much frequented, though possessed of many advantages, being inland, and contiguous to a thickly populated and rich district. The Rio Lerma bounds the state on the north and east, emptying into the Lake of Xapala, and has a number of rich towns along its course both im Mechoacan and Guanaxuato.