216

CONNECTION OF MEXICAN REMAINS.

realm of Montezuma is alleged to have extended to near the present limits of the Republic of Central America; nor will he forget with what rapidity the well trained Indian couriers of the Emperor passed over the three hundred intervening miles of mountain, plain and valley, between Vera Cruz and the Valley of Mexico, in order to inform their sovereign of the Spaniards' arrival and their leader's determination to visit the Aztec Court. At Cozumel, and elsewhere in Yucatan, the earliest Spanish adventurers were struck by the architecture of the edifices which were inhabited by the Indians. In their letters and narratives they always speak of these "buildings of stone and lime" as indicating civilization. The Indian deities were, at that time, unquestionably, worshipped in them. At Cholula, Tlascala, and Tenochtitlan or Mexico, as well as at Tezcoco, pyramids, dwellings, palaces, walls, streets, causeways, were all built of stone cemented by mortar, and many of these objects were profusely ornamented. There can be no doubt of these facts, for they were attested at the time by numerous witnesses, while many of the material relics of that age have descended even to the present time, and may still be inspected in the capital of the Republic. Why, then, should we hesitate to believe that a vast chain of civilized, intelligent and affiliated nations, co-existed on the central part of this continent in the sixteenth century, and that the ruined cities, temples and pyramids which are spread from the waters of the Gila as far south as Peru and Chili, and whose wonderful remains are now gradually unearthed by the industry of antiquarians, are the architectural fragments of their national grandeur?

We do not conceive it necessary to throw back the Indian architects into the gloom of antiquity, long anterior to the arrival of the Spaniards. There is a natural yearning in the human mind for the mystery with which a vague, indefinite epoch, surrounds ruins that are accidentally discovered. But this is a poetical sentiment, rather than a fair starting point in archaiological researches; and, in spite of the national vanity which might be gratified by proving that the aboriginal civilization of our continent was as old as that of Egypt, we shall adhere to the belief that Mitla, Palenque, Uxmal and Quemada were inhabited by the builders or their descendants, whilst the thrones of Mexico and Peru were occupied by Montezuma and Atahualpa.

QUIOTEPEC, OR CERRO DE LAS JUNTAS.

217

QUIOTEPEC, OR CERRO DE LAS JUNTAS.

In 1844, an examination was made by order of the Governor of Oajaca of the ancient remains situated near the village of Quiotepec, about thirty-two leagues north from the capital of Oajaca. These ruins are found on the Cerro de las Juntas, or Hill of the Union, so called from its vicinity to the junction of the rivers Quiotepec and Salado.

The eminence is covered in almost every direction with remains. of military works of a defensive character, calculated to protect the dwellings erected on the hill, and the extensive temple and palace, whose massive ruins still crown the summit. These remains are said to resemble those of Chicocomoc or Quemada, in the State of Zacatecas, which will be fully described in our notice of that portion of Mexico. The similarity consists in the style of the architecture, and the evident mingling of defence and worship. There is no resemblance, however, to the remains found in Yucatan as described by Stephens, Catherwood and Norman, where the designs are all highly ornamental, denoting a higher state of luxury, taste and progress in civilization. The teocalli or temple of Quiotepec and that of Chicocomoc or Quemada are both pyramidal, like most of the Aztec religious structures; but the architectural style, generally, at the former place, is rather more sumptuous than at Quemada. 1 Besides these remains, there are many others in the State of Oajaca, which are still inadequately known or described, such for instance, as the turmuli and pyramids at Montealban, two leagues south-west from Oajaca; — the relics of many strong-holds ; — the turmuli at Zachila; - the ruins at Coyúla and at San Juan de los Cués.

In the museum of the University of Mexico, and in the private collection of the late Ex-Conde del Peñasco, we found some remarkable figures chiselled from a finely grained sand stone, two of which are represented in the succeeding pages. They were found in the State of Oajaca. Their use or their symbolical character have never been accurately detected; but in the last of the two we may observe quite a remarkable resemblance to some of the idols. still to be seen in the temples of India.

1 See Museo Mejicano, vol. 3d, p. 329, for lithographic sketches of the palace and temple, and their monuments. See also vol. 1st of the same work, p. 401; and vol. 3d id., p. 135, for descriptions of Zapotec remains; and vol. 1st id., p. 246, for an imperfect account of military remains, fortifications, &c. &c., near Guiengola, near Tehuantepec

FIGURE FROM OAJACA.

CHAPTER IV.

PUEBLA

DIVISIONS

PRODUCTIONS

STREAMS PUEBLA DE LOS ANGELES

MINES, QUARRIES MOUNTAINS-POPOCATEPETL -ATLIXCO -OLIVARES -ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN - THE CRATER ELEVATION. PYRAMID OF CHOLULA — VISIT TO THE PYRAMID CORRECT DIMENSIONS. TERRITORY OF TLASCALA HISTORY POSITION- SIZE PRODUCTIONS

TOWNS.

THE STATE OF PUEBLA.

Nearly all of this State lies in the torrid zone, occupying a portion of the table land, and stretching westwardly down the slopes of the Sierra Madre to the Pacific Ocean, between the parallels of 16° 17′ and 20° 40′ north latitude. From the mouth of the river Tecoyáme to Mextitlan, it is 126 leagues long, and from Tehuacan to Mecameca, 53 leagues broad. It contains an area of 2,700 square leagues. On the north it is bounded by the State of Queretaro, north-easterly by the State of Vera Cruz, easterly by Oajaca, westwardly by Mexico and south-westwardly, for 28 leagues, by the Pacific Ocean. The last enumeration of inhabitants to which we have access, assigned 954,000 individuals to the State of Puebla, in the year 1832; but the estimate made for the basis of a call of congress in 1842, gave it only 661,902.

This State is divided into 25 partidos, or districts, the chief of which are Atlixco, Guauchinango, Ométepéc, Puebla, Tepéaca, Tehuacan de las Granádas, Tlapan, and Zacatlan. It possesses 5 cities and towns, 126 parishes, 590 villages, 412 haciendas or plantations, and 857 large and small ranchos or farms. The surface of this State is divided between mountains, vallies, plains or low lands; and produces corn, wheat, barley, chile, maguey, beans and all the hardier, together with some of the southern fruits and plants. The wheat flour of Puebla is celebrated for its excellence, and has sometimes been exported to Havana and South America.

In the neighborhood of Oajaca cochineal is sometimes produced; and on the low lands towards the western coast, cotton, rice, and small quantities of coffee and sugar are cultivated. The Llanos de Apam, in the neighborhood of the State of Mexico are celebrated for their fertility, and especially renowned for the excellence of the pulque, produced from the maguey or Agave Americana.