French government, were in abundance for half a dollar. The monopoly of flour is, if poffible, on ftill a worse footing for the inhabi-. tant; and the tobacco infpection yet more difcouraging to the planter. The GOVERNOR, or the crown, as it is called, must have an undefined advantage in every thing. Hence all are ripe for a revolution the moment one fhall offer with profpect of being fupported, whether it fhall come from the United States, England, France, or internally from the inhabitants.

It is faid to have been the fixed refolution of the British ministry to feize on New-Orleans, in the first inftance, in cafe a rupture with Spain had taken place, as a neceffary prelude to an attack on the Spanish poffeffions in the Weft-Indies and on the main. For this purpofe every bend of the river, every bay and harbour on the coat, have been furveyed and founded with the utmost exactness, and all of them are better known to the British than to the Spaniards themfelves.

Whilft the United States were engaged in the revolution war against England, the Spaniards attacked and poffeffed themselves of all the English pofts and fettlements on the Miffiffippi, from the Iberville up to the Yazoos river, including the Natchez country; and by virtue of this conqueft are now peopling and governing an extent of country three degrees north of the United States' fouth boundary, and claiming authority which no treaties warrant. This alone will probably be deemed fufficient caufe for the United States to join with any other power against Spain, the first opportunity, as they conceive these territories belong to them by treaty. In such case, the Kentucky country alone could, in one week, raise a sufficient force to conquer all the Spanish poffeffions on the Miffiffippi; whilst one thousand men would be equal to defend the whole country of New-Orleans and Louifiana from any enemy approaching it by fea. The greater a hoftile fleet entering the Miffiffippi, the greater and more certain would be their deftruction, if oppofed by men of knowledge and refolution.*

New

*The following extract of a letter from a gentleman at New-Orleans, dated Sepember, 1790, contains much useful information, in confirmation of the above: "When I left you and my other friends at Baltimore, last year, I promised to write to you by every opportunity, and to communicate to you every information which I would derive from my excurfion to the Ohio, down that beautiful ftream, during my stay

New-Orelans ftands on the east fide of the Miffiffippi, one hundred and five miles from its mouth, in latitude 30° 2' north. In the beginning

Kentucky and the western posts, my vifit to the Illinois and the different fettlements on the Miffiffippi, from thence down to New-Orleans.

"As I have devoted more than twelve months in making this tour, with the deter mination to judge for myself, and to give you and my other friends information to be depended upon, regarding the climate, foil, natural productions, population, and other advantages and difadvantages, which you may depend on finding in the country I have paffed through, I cannot, within the narrow bounds of this letter, comply with my intention, and your with, but I must beg of you to reft fatisfied with what follows:

"Nearly oppofite to Louisville is a stockade fort, garrifoned by two companies of the first United States regiment. What ufe this poft is of, I never could learn.-It is a mere hofpital in the fummer feason, and the grave of brave men, who might be ufefully employed elsewhere. Fort Harmar is as remarkably healthful; fo is the NewEngland fettlement at Muskingum; and I think the Miami fettlement will be healthful when the people have the comforts of good living about them; at prefent they are the poorest among the poor emigrants to this country, and not the best managers. Below the falls, on the weft fide, is a miferable fettlement, called Clarksville, frequently flooded, and composed of a people who cannot better themselves at prefent, or I suppose they would not continue here. From thence I made an excurfion by land to Poft Vineent, diftant about one hundred miles: the fort here is garrifoned by two companies, at great expenfe, but little ufe. Not liking the country on account of the many hoftile neighbouring Indians, I haftened out of it, and went with a party of Frenchmen to Kafkakias, in the Illinois country, and visited Prairie des Rochers, St. Philip's, Belle Fontaine, and Kahokia; from whence making up a party to purfue fome hoftile Kukapoos, and steering due eaft, we fell on the head waters of the Kafkafkia river, which we croffed at fome diftance. This is a delightful country! On our return to Kahokia, I croffed over to St. Louis, on the Spanish fide, but I did not proceed far into the country; what I did fee I did not like, and the efore bought a canoe and went down the Miffifippi to St. Genevieve and the Saline. Not being pleafed with these places, nor the country around, I embraced the company of fome French hunters and traders going towards the St. Francis river, in a fouth-west direction from St. Genevieve. After travelling thirty miles nearly, I came to a fweet country; here meeting with fome Shawancfe Indians going to l'Ance la Graife, and New-Madrid, I made them a fmall prefent, and engaged them to efcort me there, which they did through a country fine and beautiful beyond defcription; variegated by fmall hills, beautiful timber, and extenfive plains of luxuriant foil. Here the Spaniards are building a handfome fort, to encourage the fettlement by Americans, on a plan of Colonel Morgan's, of New-Jersey, which, had ić been purfued, as propofed by him, would have made this the fift in all the western country, but thay lavo katikati mi, fo much as to difcourage the fettlement, and many have hit. The bank out the Milly, I overdow above and below the town, bin the conetty Lack hom the nvt incomparably beautiful and fine. I made a

tour

ning of the year 1787 it contained about one thousand one hundred houfes, seven-eights of which were confumed by fire in the space of five hours, on the 19th of March, 1788. It is now rebuilt. Its advantages for trade are very great. Situated on a noble river, in a fertile and healthy country, within a week's fail of Mexico by fea, and as near to the British, French, and Spanish West-India islands, with a moral certainty of its becoming the general receptacle for the produce of that extenfive and valuable country, on the Miffiffippi and Ohio; these circumstances are fufficient to ensure its future growth and commercial importance.

;

The greater part of the white inhabitants are Roman Catholics they are governed by a viceroy from Spain; the number of inhabi

fants is unknown.

tour back to the river St. Francis, diftaut about twenty-eight or thirty miles, and returned by another route more fouthward, to my great fatisfaction. Expreffing to fome of the people, at New-Madrid, my furprise at Colonel S***'s account of this country, I was told that he never went one hundred yards back from the river, either on the Ohio or Millippi, except once, and that was at l'Ance la Graife, where a horfe was provided for him, and he rode fifteen or twenty miles, and returned fo enraptured with the country, that he would not liften to the propofed fettlement of New-Madrid being fised at any other place; and he actually applied to Colonel Morgan for forty furveys, most of which were executed; and he entered into obligations for settlements thereon; but the Colonel refufing to grant him three hundred acres of the town lots, for a farm, as it would be injurious to other applicants of equal merit, S*** fwore he would dɔ every thing in his power to injure Morgan and the fettlement; which it feems he has endeavoured to do, to the ruin, however, of his own reputation. I am fatisfied that the failure of this fettlement is only owing to a narrow policy in the Spanish govern meat, or to a deviation from their first plan, and not from the caules reprefented by its enemics. This is the country, of all others, I have seen, which I would wish to fettle in, had Colonel Morgan's plan been adopted, or carried into execution; and thousands among the beft people of the western country would already have been fettled here. Why it was not, I know not; but I am told jealousy of his fuccefs was

the caufe.

"After continuing two months in this delightful country, I proceeded to the Natchez, which has already become a confiderable fettlement, and is now under the government of Don Gayofo, a man greatly beloved; but the Spanish government, though I think it liberal at prefent, will not long agree with American ideas of liberty and justice; and a revolution is now in embryo, which a small matter will blow to a flame; and New-Orleans i felf will be at the inercy of new fubjects, if joined by a handful of the Kentucky people.

MEXICO,

MEXICO, OR NEW-SPAIN.

MEXICO is fituated between 9o and 40° north-latitude, and 18°

and 500 weft-longitude. Its length is two thoufand one hundred miles, and breadth one thousand fix hundred. It is bounded on the north, by unknown regions; on the east, by Louisiana and the gulph of Mexico; on the fouth, by the ifthmus of Darien, which feparates it from Terra Firma in South-America; and on the weft, by the Pacific ocean.

This vaft country is divided into three grand divifions, viz. I. OLD-MEXICO. 2. NEW-MEXICO PROPER. 3. CALIFORINA, lying on the west, and a peninsula.

OLD-MEXICO.

The ancient kingdom of Mexico, properly fo called, was divided into feveral provinces, of which the vale of Mexico itself was the finest in every respect. This vale is surrounded by verdant mountains, measuring upwards of one hundred and twenty miles in circumference at their bafe. A great part of it is occupied by two lakes, the upper one of fresh water, but the lower one brackish, communicating with the former by means of a canal. All the water running from the mountains is collected in this lower lake, on account of its being in the bottom of the valley; hence it was ready, when fwelled by extraordinary rain, to overflow the city of Mexico. This delightful region contained the three imperial cities of Mexico, Acolhuacan, and Tlacopan; befides forty others, with innumerable villages and hamlets; but the moft confiderable of thefe, according to Clavigero, now scarcely retain one twentieth part of their former magnificence. The principal inland provinces to the northward were the Otomies; to the fouth-weft the Malatzincas and Cuitlatecas; to the fouth the Tlahuicas and Cohuixcas; to the fouth-eaft, after the states of Itzocan, Jauhtepat, Quauhquecollon, Atlixco, Tehuacan, and others, were the great provinces of the Mixtecas, the Zapotecas, and the Chiapanecas; towards the east were the provinces of Tepayacac, the Popolocas, and Totonacas. The maritime provinces on the Mexican

gulf

gulf were Coatzacualco and Cuetlachtlan, called by the Spaniards Cotafta. On the Pacific ocean were thofe of Coliman, Zacatollan, Tototepec, Tecuantepec, and Zoconochco.

The province of the Otomies began in the northern part of the vale of Mexico, extending through the mountains to the north, to the diftance of ninety miles from the city of Mexico; the principal cities being Tollan, or Tula, and Xilotepec: the latter made the capital of the country by the Spaniards. Beyond the fettlements of the Otomies, the country for more than a thousand miles in extent was inhabited only by barbarous and wandering favages.

The Malatzinca province contained the valley of Tolocan, and all the country from Taximaroa to the frontier of the kingdom of Michuacan. The valley of Tolocan is upwards of forty miles long from fouth-east to north-west, and thirty in breadth, where broadest. Its principal city, named alfo Tolocan, is fituated at the foot of a high mountain covered with fnow, thirty miles diftant from Mexico.

The country of the Cuitlatecas extended from north-eaft to fouthweft, upwards of two hundred miles, extending as far as the Pacific ocean. Their capital was named Mexcaltepec, once a great and populous city, fituated upon the fea coaft, but of which the ruins are now fcarcely vifible. That of the Tlahuicas was named Quauhnahuac, and fituated about forty miles to the fouthward of Mexico. The province extended almost fixty miles fouthward, commencing from the fouthern mountains of the vale of Mexico.

The country of the Cohuixcas extended on the fouthward as far as the Pacific ocean, through that part where at prefent the port and city of Acapulco lie. It was divided into the states of Tzompanco, Chilapan, Tlapan, and Tistla; the latter a very hot and unwholesome country. To this province belonged a place named Tlachco, celebrated for its filver mines.

The province of the Mixtecas extended from Acatlan, a place diftant about one hundred and twenty miles from Mexico, as far as the Pacific ocean towards the fouth-east. The inhabitants carried on a confiderable commerce, and had feveral well-inhabited cities and villages. To the eaft of the Mixtecas were the Zapotecas, fo called from their capital Teotzapotlan. In their district was the valley of Huaxyacac, now Oaxaca, or Guaxaca.

The province of Mazatlan lay to the northward of the Mixtecas ; and to the northward and eastward of the Zapotecas was Chimantla, having their capitals of the fame name with their provinces. The

Chia