IRON- SILVER-INDIAN NECROLOGY-CAVE BURIAL. 333

from sixty to seventy-five per cent. of pure metal. Silver is also abundant in the mountains; but the mines have been carelessly worked, and, in some places, are abandoned for want of suitable machinery or enterprize. The principal districts and places in which this precious deposit has been found and profitably wrought, are at Gavalines, Guarisamey and San Dimas, in the two last of which the fortunate adventurer Zambrano, acquired, during twentyfive years, the extraordinary wealth he possessed. These mines are divided into Tamasula, Canélas and Sianori, lying on the western slope of the Cordillera; and Guanasevi, Indée, El Oro, Cuencame and Mapimi, on the eastern declivities. They lie about five days' journey west of the capital.

The following interesting sketch of Indian necrology is given in the valuable and recent work of Mühlenpfordt upon the Mexican Republic.

In the State of Durango, - says this interesting German author,especially in the unexplored portion of the Bolson de Mapimi, many relics of antiquity, important for the history of this country, are probably hidden. In the summer of 1838, a remarkable old Indian cave of sepulture was discovered in this singular region. Among the few establishments which enterprizing settlers have founded in that lonely territory which is overrun by wild Indians, one of the most important is the estate of San Juan de Casta, on its western border, 86 leagues north of the town of Durango. Don Juan Flores, its proprietor, rambling one day with several companions in the eastern part of the Bolson, remarked the entrance of a cavern on the side of a mountain. He went in, and beheld, as he imagined, a great number of Indians sitting silently around the walls of the cave. Flores immediately rushed forth in affright, to communicate his remarkable discovery to his friends, who at once supposed that the story of the adventurer was nothing but an affair of fancy, as they no where found any trace or foot path to show that the secluded spot had been hitherto visited. But, in order to satisfy themselves, they entered the cavern with pine torches,—and their sight was greeted by more than a thousand corpses in a state of perfect preservation, their hands clasped beneath their knees, and sitting on the ground. They were clad in mantles excellently woven and wrought of the fibres of a bastard aloe, indigenous in these regions, which is called lechuguilla, with bands and scarfs of variegated stuffs. Their ornaments were strings of fruit-kernels, with beads formed of bone, ear-rings, and thin cylindrical bones polished and gilt, and their sandals were made of a species of liana.

2Q

MILITARY IMPORTANCE

EL PASO WINE, ETC.- ANTIQUITIESINDIAN RAVAGES-THE BOLSON DE MAPIMI MEXICAN MODES

ARRIEROS-CONDUCTA-COACHES-FREIGHT WAGONS-MEXI

The State of Chihuahua, containing an area of 17,151 square leagues, or 119,169 English square miles, and reaching from 26° 53' 36" to 32° 57' 43" north latitude, is bounded on the north by New Mexico, east by Coahuila and Texas, south by Durango, south-west by Sinaloa, and north-west by Sonora. The great mountain chain of Mexico, which is the connecting link between the Rocky Mountains of the north and the Andes of the south, is here known as the Sierra Madre, and occupies chiefly the western part of the State, where its elevations attain a vast height, and at length, descend abruptly, cut by deep barrancas or ravines, until they are lost in the plains of Sonora and Sinaloa. Mexican authorities state the highest point of the Sierra Madre, at the Peaks of Jesus Maria, to be 8,441 feet above the level of the sea. The greater portion of Chihuahua consequently lies, like Durango, upon the plateau of Mexico, and only a small part upon the western slope of the Sierra Madre. The loftier elevations of the Cordillera, as it passes upward from Durango, lean towards the west until they pass the centre of Chihuahua, and then bending once more, nearly north, pursue their way through New Mexico into the remote wilderness of our Union. Towards the east these steeps become gradually depressed until they are lost in the vast and uncultivated regions of the Bolson de Mapimi, whose elevation above the sea is still 3,800 feet, according to the measurement of Dr. Wislizenius.

RIVERS-LAKES-INDIANS-DIVISIONS.

335

Seventeen rivers and streams flow through the territory of this State. The Rio Bravo, or Rio Grande del Norte; the Rio Conchas; Florida; Chihuahua; Tonachi; Llanos; Casas Grandes ; San Buenaventura; Carmen; Santa Isabel; Pasesiochi; Mulatos; Chiñapas; Parral; San Pedro; Batopilas; and Rio Grande de Bavispe. The lakes or lagunes are those of San Martin; Guzman; Patos, or Candelaria; Encinillas; and Castilla. The river Nasas, which rises in Durango debouches in the Lake of Cayman, in the Bolson de Mapimi. The climate resembles that of the adjoining State of Durango. In the year 1834, the population, according to official statistics was 145,182; at present, it is estimated at from 150,000 to 160,000, which number would give about 1.3 for each English square mile. This is probably the actual number of inhabitants within the State, exclusive of Indians and some wild dwellers among the mountains who were not comprised in the census of 1833. Large numbers of aborigines occupy the lonelier portions of Chihuahua. Tribes of Tepehuanés, Llanos, Acotlames, Cocoyames and a few remnants of the Aztecs are found within its borders. In the Bolson de Mapimi, and on the borders of the mountain ranges of the Chanáte, El Diabolo Puerco, and Pilares, swarm numbers of the Apaches Mescaléros and Farones, who are often engaged in war with the savage and robber tribes of Cumanches, whose constant inroads into the Mexican territory are a source of incessant annoyance and insecurity to the people of the frontier. In the ravines and valleys of the Sierra de los Mimbres, in the northwest of the State, the Apache Mimbreños are found, while further south, in the wild and deep dells of Tararécua and Santa Sinforosa various bands of the Tarahuamares still pursue their hunter-life in perfect freedom.

There is some doubt, in consequence of the conflict of authorities, as to the divisions of the State of Chihuahua. According to the Noticias Estadisticas of Señor Escudero, published in 1834, it was composed of four districts: Chihuahua, Hidalgo, Paso del Norte, and Guadalupe y Calvo,—in the first of which are the partidos of Aldama, Cosihuiriachi, Papigochi, and Jesus Maria de Rosales;in the second, the partidos of Allende and Jimenez ;-in the third, the partidos of Galeanas and Janos;-and in the fourth, those of Batopilas and Balleza or Tepehuanes. According to an article published by the same writer in the fourth volume of the Museo Mexicano, in 1844, he apparently entertains the opinion that the same divisions still continue; but, if the authority of another and very positive correspondent of the same work is to be relied on in refer

336

CLIMATE PRODUCTIONS -CATTLE ESTATES.

ence to the last mentioned period, Chihuahua was divided into the partidos of Aldama, Allende, Balleza, Batopilas, Concepcion, Cosihuiriachi, Galeana, Hidalgo, Jimenez, Paso, and Rosales, formerly Tapacolmes.

Nature has endowed Chihuahua with a pleasant and temperate climate and a fertile soil, which is said by those who are best acquainted with the State to be capable of producing abundantly, if the county is ever freed from savage inroads and filled with an industrious population of agriculturists. The forests, the streams, the valleys and the plains, all yield their tributes of valuable articles of trade. Vast herds of cattle are fed upon the large haciendas de ganado; and the mountains are veined with the precious deposits which form the wealth of so many other Mexican States. The prompt settlement of the frontier, and the security of its inhabitants against the Indians, under the protection of armed forces by the conterminous Republics, seem to be all that is requisite for the development of the fine natural resources of this hitherto neglected State.

Field and garden cultivation is not much attended to by the present inhabitants; but wherever farming operations are carried on in suitable spots, corn, wheat, barley, frijoles, and all the finest fruits, plants and vegetables, are found to repay bountifully the husbandman's labor. Even indigo and cotton are found growing wild in some of the districts, notwithstanding the proximity of the mountain region, and the bleaker exposure of the soil.

At El Paso del Norte, the right bank of the Rio Grande, is cov ered for a distance of seven leagues with excellent vineyards, whose capital fruit produces an abundance of wine, which is greedily purchased in the markets of the adjacent States. In the neighborhood of Aldama, Allende, and of many other towns, the grape is also successfully cultivated, and the liquor produced is highly esteemed by competent judges. But the chief sources of the present prosperity of Chihuahua are its mines and cattle. The best data in our possession assign to this State 56 large estates, upon all of which about 70,000 horses, 190,000 horned cattle, and 550,000 head of sheep, swine and goats are constantly fed. The silver, gold and copper mines have been in former years exceedingly productive, and even in 1844, the mint of Chihuahua, struck $61,632 in gold, and 290,000 in silver. In 1814, the coinage of the same institution reached the sum of $1,818,604 in silver, after which period it ceased operating until 1832; but since then its annual emission has never exceeded $544,244 in coins of both the precious metals. Gold was first struck at this mint in 1841, and in 1842 it sent into circulation

MINT-MINES- PRINCIPAL TOWNS

CHIHUAHUA. 337

$164,744, since which its issue has sensibly decreased. The best copper mines at present known, are those of Santa Rita, near the union of the Rio Florida with the Rio Conchas. Veins of iron, cinnabar, lead, sulphur, coal, and nitre have been found and explored; but owing to the disturbed and insecure condition of the State, are altogether abandoned.

The chief mining districts and mineral deposits are at Allende or San Bartolomé; Santa Barbara; Chihuahua; Cosihuiriachi; Santa Eulalia; Jesus Maria; Loreto; Moris; Mulatos; Minas Nuevas ; Parral; San Pedro; El Refugio; Santa Rita; Sierra Rica; Batopilas; Urique y Ximenes, or as it is at present called, Guajuquilla. A considerable portion of the product of these mines may have been extracted from the Mexican Republic, before they were coined, by the inland trade with the United States, which has been carried on extensively for many years. The gold dust, especially, both of Chihuahua and New Mexico, has formed the principal return for American merchandize; and thus the diminution of the Chihuahuan coinage may be partially accounted for. Nevertheless we are informed by the best authorities, as well as by the statistics of the mint, that the mines of this State have been negligently wrought for some years past by the unsettled inhabitants of the frontier.

The chief towns in the State are the capital, Chihuahua, situated 4,640 feet above the level of the sea, in 28° 38′ north latitude and 106° 30′ west longitude from Greenwich, containing a population of from 12,000 to 15,000. It lies in a beautiful valley opening towards the north, and hemmed in, on the other sides, by the arms of the Sierra Madre. The city is regularly built, on wide, clean streets, with many handsome and convenient houses, plentifully supplied with water, which is brought to the town by an aqueduct extending 6,533 varas. The plaza, or public square, is quite imposing. Its spacious area is adorned with a fountain and walks, with benches and pillars of white porphyry. Three sides of this square are occupied with public edifices and stores, while on the fourth is the cathedral.

The other towns are San Pedro de Batopilas, a mining post on the western slope of the Cordillera, in a deep dell; - San José del Parral, at the eastern foot of the Sierra Madre on the southern limit of Chihuahua, about eighty leagues east of Batopilas, containing about 5,000 inhabitants; Valle de San Bartolomé, on the road from Chihuahua to Durango; Allende, with 11,000 inhabitants; Santa Rosa de Cosihuiriachi, with 3,000; and various other villages and Presidios of lesser note.