Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican Part 14

The Count of Monterey arrived at San Juan de Ulua on the 18th of September, 1595, and on the 5th of the following November, entered the capital as viceroy. At first he exhibited a cold and apathetic temper, and appeared to take but little interest in the affairs of the government; but it is supposed, that being a prudent and cautious man, he was in no haste to undertake the direction of affairs whilst he was altogether unacquainted both with the temper of the people and the nature of their inst.i.tutions. An early measure, however, of his administration deserves to be recorded and remembered. He found the Indians still suffering and complaining under the odious fowl tax, created by his predecessor for the protection of domestic industry, but which had been perverted for the selfish and avaricious purposes of the receivers. He immediately abolished this impost, and diminished the whole amount of taxation upon the Indians.

In consequence of the loss of the galeon from the Philipines, which we have related, the king ordered an expedition, under the command of General Sebastian Viscaino, to examine and scour the coasts of the Californias, where it was alleged the precious metals, and, especially, the most valuable pearls would be found in abundance. Viscaino recruited a large number of followers in Mexico for this enterprise, and set sail with three vessels, in 1596, from Acapulco. The adventurers coasted the territory for a considerable time without finding a suitable location in which they might settle advantageously, until, at length, they disembarked in the port of La Paz, whence, however, they soon departed for want of provisions and supplies of every kind.

Meanwhile the Count of Monterey examined into the state of the expedition to New Mexico, which he found had been projected and partly prepared by his predecessor. He made some changes in the plan agreed on between Velasco and Onate, and, in order to exhibit his good will to the latter personage, he joined with him, in the enterprise, his relation Vicente Saldivar, who had gathered a number of emigrants for these remote and northern regions. People were tempted to abandon their homes by the reports of extraordinary mineral wealth which was to be obtained in these unexplored portions of New Spain; and, accordingly, when the standard of the expedition was raised in the great square of the capital, crowds of men with their families flocked around it to enlist for the hazardous and toilsome service.

The first news received from the emigrant colonists, when they reached Caxco, two hundred leagues from the capital, was disastrous. Quarrels had originated among the adventurers, who a.s.serted that the terms of the expedition had not been complied with faithfully. As soon as the viceroy heard of the discontent, he despatched Don Lope de Ulloa as a pacificator, to the inflamed band which was quickly reduced to harmony and persuaded to continue its journey to the promised land. At length the weary emigrants reached the boasted El Dorado; but finding the reports of mineral wealth altogether exaggerated, and doubting the advantage of residing with their families permanently in such distant outposts, many of them retraced their way southward to regions that were more densely populated.

In 1598, another effort was resolved on to gather the dispersed and refractory vagabond Indians who wandered about the territory under the name of Mexicans and Otomies. Whilst they maintained their perfectly nomadic state it was evident that they were useless either as productive laborers for the Spaniards, or as objects of taxation for the sovereign. It was a wise policy, therefore, to attempt what was philanthropically called--their civilization;--but upon this occasion, as upon all the others that preceded it, the failure was signal.

Commissioners and notaries were selected and large salaries paid these officials to ensure their faithful services in congregating the dispersed natives. But the government agents, who well knew the difficulty if not the absolute impossibility of achieving the desired object, amused themselves by receiving and spending the liberal salaries disbursed by the government, whilst the Indians still continued as uncontrolled as ever. The Count of Monterey was nevertheless obstinately bent on the prosecution of this favorite policy of the king, and squandered, upon these vile ministerial agents, upwards of two hundred thousand dollars, without producing the least beneficial result. In the following viceroy's reign he was sentenced to pay the government this large sum as having been unwisely spent; but was finally absolved from its discharge by the court to which he appealed from the decision of his successor.

In the beginning of 1599, the news was received in Mexico of the death of Philip II. and of the accession of Philip III. This event was perhaps the most remarkable in the annals of the colony, during the last year of the sixteenth century, except that the town of Monterey in New Leon was founded, and that a change was made by the viceroy of the port of Vera Cruz from its former sickly site at la Antigua, to one which has since become equally unhealthy.

The first three years of the seventeenth century were chiefly characterized by renewed viceroyal efforts among the Indians. The project of congregating the nomadic natives was abandoned, and various attempts were made to break up the system of _repartimientos_, which had been, as we have seen, the established policy of the colony if not of the king, ever since the conquest. If the Indians were abandoned to their own free will, it was supposed that their habits were naturally so thriftless that they would become burthensome instead of beneficial to the Spanish colonists, and, ultimately, might resolve themselves into mere wanderers like the Otomies and their vagabond companions.

Yet, it was acknowledged that their involuntary servitude, and the disastrous train of impositions it entailed, were unchristian and unjust. There was a dilemma, in fact between idleness and tyranny; but the viceroy conceived it his duty to endeavor once more, with an honest zeal, to sustain the humane policy of freedom which was recommended not only by the sovereign but by the religious orders who were supposed to know the natives best. Various projects were adopted to harmonize their freedom with a _necessary_ degree of labor, in order to ensure them wages and support, whilst they were preserved together in organized societies. After the _repartimientos_ were abrogated, the Indians were compelled to a.s.semble, on every Sabbath, in the public squares of the villages and towns, where they made their contracts of service by the day. The viceroy himself, anxious to prevent fraud, a.s.sisted personally in the reunions at the plazas or squares of San Juan and Santiago. But it was all in vain. The proprietors, land owners, and agents, were opposed to the scheme.

Brokers interposed, and, after hiring the Indians at moderate rates in contracts made with themselves, sub-let them to others on higher terms. And, at last, it is alleged that the unfortunate natives, seeing the bad operation of the viceroy's kind intentions in their behalf, and finding their condition less happy when they had to take care of themselves than when they were taken care of, appealed to the Count of Monterey to restore the old system of _repartimientos_ under which they were at least spared the trouble of seeking for task-masters and support. Indolent by nature; creatures of habit; and living in a country whose bosom afforded them spontaneously most of the luxuries required by such a cla.s.s, they submitted to what, in fact, was the greatest evil of their lot, because it relieved them of the trouble of individual _effort_!

In 1602, Philip III. commanded another expedition for the colonization and exploration of the Californias. It departed in three ships and a barque from Acapulco, on the fifth of May, under the command of Viscaino. Torribio Gomez Corban was the admiral of the little fleet, and Antonio Flores, pilot. From the day of its departure, it was driven by severe gales, but, at length, the port of Monterey was reached by the weary crews, who continued along the coast until they arrived at Cape Blanco de San Sabastian, somewhat beyond Cape Mendozino. There the voyagers were sorely attacked with scurvy which thinned their numbers to such an extent, that, of the whole, only six were able to do duty. With this scant equipment of men, the vessels reached Mazatlan, where the crews recruited their health; and, pa.s.sing thence to Acapulco, the expedition once more landed in the midst of civilization and hastened back to the capital to give a bad report of the country which in our day and generation has become the El Dorado of the world.

The Conde de Monterey, was transferred to the viceroyalty of Peru in 1603, and left the capital amid the general grief of a society whose cordial esteem he seems to have won and retained during his whole administration.

DON JUAN DE MENDOZA Y LUNA, MARQUES DE MONTESCLAROS, X. VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN. 1603-1607.

The advent of the Marques de Montesclaros to the viceroyalty of New Spain was distinguished by an unusual degree of tranquillity throughout the colony. During the preceding administrations most of the subjects of internal discontent were set at rest, and the aborigines who had been subjected to the yoke were now becoming accustomed to bear it. In 1604, the abundant rains in the valley of Mexico during the month of August, caused an inundation which greatly alarmed the population. The city and adjacent country were laid under water, and such was the general distress that the Marques solicited the opinions of skilful persons in regard to the ca.n.a.l of Huehuetoca, which had heretofore been spoken of as the only means of freeing the capital from destruction by the swollen flood of the lakes. The reports made to him, however, represented the enterprise as one of immense labor and expense, as well as requiring a great length of time for its completion. He therefore abandoned the project for the present, and merely repaired the _albarrada_ or d.y.k.e which Velasco had already constructed. In addition to this precautionary measure he caused the _calzadas_, or raised turnpikes of Guadalupe and San Cristoval to be constructed, which, whilst they led to the open country beyond the city, served, also, as additional barriers against the waters. After the completion of these highways, he next directed his attention to those of San Antonio and Chapultepec, which were quickly finished, and merited the name of "Roman works," for the ma.s.sive strength and durability of their construction. Various other useful munic.i.p.al works, such as aqueducts and sewers, engaged the notice of the viceroy until, in 1607; and after the proclamation of the Prince of Asturias (Philip IV.) by order of the king, he was ordered to pa.s.s from Mexico to Peru where he was charged with the duties of the viceroyalty.

CHAPTER VI.

1607-1621.

SECOND ADMINISTRATION OF DON LUIS VELASCO--HIS GREAT WORK FOR THE DRAINAGE OF THE VALLEY.--LAKES IN THE VALLEY--DANGER OF INUNDATION.--HISTORY OF THE DESAGUE OF HUEHUETOCA.--OPERATIONS OF THE ENGINEERS MARTINEZ AND BOOT.--THE FRANCISCANS.--COMPLETION OF THE DESAGUE.--LA OBRA DEL CONSULADO.--NEGRO REVOLT.--EXTENSION OF ORIENTAL TRADE.--GUERRA VICEROY.--DE CORDOVA VICEROY.--INDIAN REVOLT.--CORDOVA FOUNDED.

DON LUIS VELASCO,--THE SECOND,--CONDE DE SANTIAGO AND FIRST MARQUES DE SALINAS, XI. VICEROY OF MEXICO. HIS SECOND ADMINISTRATION. 1607-1611.

Don Luis Velasco had been seven years viceroy of Peru since he left the government of Mexico, when he was summoned once more to rule a country of which he felt himself almost a native.[35] He was tired of public life, and being advanced in years would gladly have devoted the rest of his existence to the care of his family and the management of his valuable estates in the colony. But he could not refuse the nomination of the king, and at the age of seventy, once more found himself at the head of affairs in New Spain.

The government of this excellent n.o.bleman has been signalized in history by the erection of the magnificent public work, designed for the drainage of the valley, of which we spoke during the last viceroyalty. The results of Velasco's labors were permanent, and as his work, or at least a large portion of it remains to the present day, and serves to secure the capital from the floods with which it is constantly menaced, we shall describe the whole of this magnificent enterprise at present, though our description will carry us, chronologically, out of the period under consideration, and lead us from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century.

The valley of Mexico is a great basin, which although seven thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea, and of course subject to constant and rapid evaporation, is yet exceedingly humid for so elevated a region. No stream, except the small _arroyo_, or rivulet of Tequisquiac, issues from the valley, whilst the rivers Papalotla, Tezcoco, Teotihuacan, Guadalupe, Pachuca and Guaut.i.tlan pour into it and form the five lakes of Chalco, Xochimilco, Tezcoco, San Cristoval and Zumpango. "These lakes rise by stages as they approach the northern extremity of the valley; the waters of Tezcoco, being, in their ordinary state, four Mexican varas and eight inches lower than the waters of the lake of San Cristoval, which again, are six varas lower than the waters of the lake Zumpango, which forms the northernmost link of this dangerous chain. The level of Mexico in 1803 was exactly one vara, one foot and one inch above that of the lake of Tezcoco,[36] and, consequently, was nine varas and five inches lower than that of the lake of Zumpango; a disproportion, the effects of which have been more severely felt because the lake of Zumpango receives the tributary streams of the river Guaut.i.tlan, whose volume is more considerable than that of all the other rivers which enter the valley combined.

"In the inundations to which this peculiarity in the formation of the valley of Mexico has given rise, a similar succession of events has been always observed. The lake of Zumpango, swollen by the rapid increase of the river Guaut.i.tlan during the rainy season, forms a junction with that of San Cristoval, and the waters of the two combined burst the d.y.k.es which separate them from the lake of Tezcoco.

The waters of this last again, raised suddenly more than a vara above their usual level, and prevented from extending themselves to the east and south-east, by the rapid rise of the ground in that direction, rush back towards the capital and fill the streets which approach nearest to their own level. This was the case in the years 1553, 1580, 1604 and 1607, in each of which years the capital was entirely under water, and the d.y.k.es which had been constructed for its protection destroyed."[37]

Such is a topographical sketch of the country accurately given by a careful writer; and to protect an important region so constantly menaced with inundation, the viceroy now addressed himself.

Accordingly he commissioned the engineer Enrique Martinez, in 1607 to attempt the drainage of the lake of Zumpango, by the stupendous ca.n.a.l now known under the name of the DESAGUE DE HUEHUETOCA.

"The plan of Martinez appears to have embraced two distinct objects, the first of which extended to the lakes of Tezcoco and San Cristoval, while the second was confined to the lake of Zumpango whose superfluous waters were to be carried into the valley of Tula by a subterraneous ca.n.a.l into which the river Guaut.i.tlan was likewise compelled to flow. The second of these projects only was approved by the government; and the line of the ca.n.a.l having been traced by Martinez between the Cerro or hill of Sincoque and the hill of Nochistongo to the north-west of Huehuetoca, where the mountains that surrounded the valley are less elevated than in any other spot,--the great subterraneous gallery of Nochistongo was commenced on the 28th of November, 1607. Fifteen thousand Indians were employed in this work, and as a number of air shafts were sunk, in order to enable them to work upon the different points at once, in eleven months a tunnel of six thousand six hundred metres[38] in length, three metres five in breadth and four metres two in height, was concluded.

"From the northern extremity of this tunnel called la boca de San Gregorio, an open cut of eight thousand six hundred metres conducted the waters to the _salto_ or fall of the river Tula, where, quitting the valley of Mexico, they precipitate themselves into that of Tula, from a natural terrace of twenty Mexican varas in height, and take their course towards the bar of Tampico where they enter the gulf of Mexico. An enterprise of such magnitude could hardly be free from defects, and Martinez soon discovered that the unbaked bricks, of which the interior of the tunnel was composed, were unable to resist the action of water, which, being confined within narrow limits, was at times impelled through the tunnel with irresistible violence. A facing of wood proved equally ineffectual, and masonry was at last resorted to; but even this, though successful for a time, did not answer permanently, because the engineer, instead of an elliptical arch, constructed nothing but a sort of vault, the sides of which rested upon a foundation of no solidity. The consequence was that the walls were gradually undermined by the water, and that the vault itself in many parts fell in.

"This accident rendered the government indifferent to the fate of the gallery which was neglected, and finally abandoned in the year 1623, when a Dutch engineer, named Adrian Boot, induced the viceroy to resume the old system of d.y.k.e and embankments, and to give orders for closing the tunnel of Nochistongo. A sudden rise in the lake of Tezcoco caused these orders to be revoked, and Martinez was again allowed to proceed with his works which he continued until the 20th of June, 1629, when an event took place, the real causes of which have never been ascertained."

"The rainy season having set in with unusual violence, Martinez, either desirous to convince the inhabitants of the capital of the utility of his gallery, or fearful, as he himself stated, that the fruits of his labor would be destroyed by the entrance of too great a volume of water, closed the mouth of the tunnel, without communicating to any one his intention to do so. The effect was instantaneous; and, in one night, the whole town of Mexico was laid under water, with the exception of the great square, and one of the suburbs. In all the other streets the water rose upwards of three feet, and during five years, from 1629 to 1634, canoes formed the only medium of communication between them. The foundations of many of the princ.i.p.al houses were destroyed; trade was paralyzed; the lower cla.s.ses reduced to the lowest state of misery; and orders were actually given by the court of Madrid to abandon the town and build a new capital in the elevated plains between Tacuba and Tacubaya, to which the waters of the lakes, even before the conquest, had never been known to extend.

"The necessity of this measure was obviated by a succession of earthquakes in the dry year of 1634, when the valley was cracked and rent in various directions, and the waters gradually disappeared; a miracle for which due credit should be given to the Virgin of Guadalupe, by whose powerful intercession it is said to have been effected.

"Martinez, who had been thrown into confinement in 1629, was released upon the termination of the evils which his imprudence was said to have occasioned; and was again placed by a new viceroy,--the Marques de Cerralvo,--at the head of the works by which similar visitations were to be averted in future. Under his superintendence the great d.y.k.e, or _Calzada_ of San Cristoval was put in order,[39] by which the lake of that name is divided from that of Tezcoco. This gigantic work which consists of two distinct ma.s.ses, the first, one league, and the second, one thousand five hundred varas in length, is ten varas in width or thickness throughout, and from three and a half to four varas in height. It is composed entirely of stone, with b.u.t.tresses of solid masonry on both sides, and three sluices, by which, in any emergency, a communication between the lakes can be effected and regulated at the same time. The whole was concluded, like the gallery of Nochistongo, in eleven months, although as many years would now be required for such an undertaking. But in those days the sacrifice of life, and particularly of Indian life, in public works, was not regarded. Many thousands of the natives perished before the _desague_ was completed; and to their loss, as well as to the hardships endured by the survivors, may be ascribed the horror with which the name of Huehuetoca is p.r.o.nounced by their descendants.

"It is not our intention to follow the progress of the ca.n.a.l of Huehuetoca through all the various changes which occurred in the plans pursued with respect to it from 1637, when the direction of the work was again taken from Martinez and confided to the Franciscan monks, until 1767, when, under the viceroyalty of the Marques de Croix, the Consulado or corporate body of Mexican merchants, engaged to complete this great national undertaking. The necessity of converting the tunnel of Martinez into an open cut, had long been acknowledged, it having been found impossible to prevent the tunnel from being continually choked up by the sand and rubbish deposited by the water on its pa.s.sage; but as the work was only prosecuted with vigor when the danger of an inundation became imminent, and was almost suspended in the dry years, two thousand three hundred and ten varas of the northern gallery remained untouched, after the expiration of one hundred and thirty years when the Consulado was intrusted with the completion of the arduous task. As the old line of the gallery was to be preserved, it became necessary to give the cut which was to be sunk, perpendicularly upon it, an enormous width at the top, in order to prevent the sides from falling in; and in the more elevated parts, between the mountains of Sincoque and the hill of Nochistongo, for the s.p.a.ce of two thousand six hundred and twenty-four feet, the width, across, varies from two hundred and seventy-eight to six hundred and thirty feet, while the perpendicular depth is from one hundred and forty-seven to one hundred and ninety-six feet. The whole length of the cut from the sluice called the _vertideros_ to the _salto_ or fall of the river Tula, is sixty-seven thousand five hundred and thirty-seven feet or twenty-four thousand five hundred and thirty Mexican varas. The highest point of the hill of Nochistongo is that called Boveda Real, and it would be difficult when looking down from it, upon the stream below, and, following with the eye the vast opening through which it seeks an issue, to conceive that the whole is, indeed, the work of man, did not the mounds on either side, as yet but imperfectly covered with vegetation, and the regular outline of the terraces, denote both the recentness of its completion, and the impossibility of attributing it to any natural convulsion.

"The Obra del Consulado, as the opening cut is called, was concluded in the year 1789. It cost nearly a million of dollars; and the whole expense of the drainage from 1607 to the beginning of the present century, including the various projects commenced and abandoned when only partially executed,--the d.y.k.es connected with the _desague_,--and the two ca.n.a.ls which communicate with the lakes of San Cristoval and Zumpango,--is estimated at six millions two hundred and forty-seven thousand six hundred and seventy dollars, or one million two hundred and forty-nine thousand five hundred and thirty-four pounds. It is supposed that one-third of this sum would have proved sufficient to cover all the expenses, had Martinez been furnished in the first instance with the means of executing his project upon the scale which he had judged necessary; for it is in the reduced dimensions of the gallery of Nochistongo, which was never equal to the volume of water to which at particular seasons it afforded an outlet, that all the subsequent expenditure has originated."[40]

We have judged it better to group together in this place all the facts relative to this most important national work,--so as to afford the reader a complete picture of the undertaking,--than to relate the slow and tedious history of the work as it advanced to completion during the reigns of many viceroys. The present condition of the _desague_ and its advantages will be treated in another portion of this work; and we shall therefore revert at once to the year 1609, in which a large number of negroes rebelled against the Spaniards. It seems that the blacks in the neighborhood of Cordova, who were in fact slaves on many of the _hiciendas_ or plantations, having been treated, in an inhuman manner by their owners, rose against them in great force, and gathering together in the adjacent mountains menaced their tyrannical task-masters with death, and their property with ruin. Velasco sent one hundred soldiers, one hundred volunteers, one hundred Indian archers, together with two hundred Spaniards and Mestizos, to attack them in their fastnesses.

Several skirmishes took place between the slaves and these forces, and at length the negroes yielded to the Spaniards,--craving their pardon, inasmuch as their "insurrection was not against the king,"--and promising that they would no longer afford a refuge to the blacks who absconded from the plantations. Velasco at once granted their request, and permitted them to settle in the town of San Lorenzo.

In 1610 and 1611, there were but few important incidents in the history of New Spain, which was now gradually forming itself into a regularly organized state, free from all those violent internal commotions, which nations, like men, are forced to undergo in their infancy. The viceroy still endeavored to ameliorate the condition of the Indians, and despatched a mission to j.a.pan in order to extend the oriental commerce of Spain. The true policy of Castile would have been, instead of crushing Mexico by colonial restrictions, to have raised her gradually into a gigantic state, which, situated in the centre of America, on the narrowest part of the continent between the two oceans, and holding in her veins the precious metals in exhaustless quant.i.ties, would have surely grasped and held the commerce of the east and of Europe. Such would seem the natural destiny of Mexico if we examine her geographical features carefully; nor do we venture too much in predicting that the time will come when that destiny will be fulfilled.

Velasco was now well stricken in years and required repose. His master, appreciating his faithful services and his unquestionable loyalty, added to his already well earned t.i.tles that of Marques of Salinas, and creating him president of the Council of the Indies recalled him to Spain where he could pa.s.s in quiet the evening of his days, whilst he was also enabled to impart the results of his vast American experience to the king and court.

FRAY GARCIA GUERRA, ARCHBISHOP OF MEXICO, XII. VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN.

1611-1612.

Velasco, as an especial mark of royal favor, was desired to retain his power as viceroy until the moment of embarkation for Spain, and then to depose it in favor of the monk Garcia Guerra, who had been the worthy prior of a Dominican convent at Burgos in Spain, until he was nominated to the Archepiscopal See of Mexico. His government was brief and altogether eventless. He became viceroy on the 17th of June, 1611, and died on the 22d of February in the following year, of a wound he received in falling as he descended from his coach.

DON DIEGO FERNANDEZ DE CORDOVA, MARQUES DE GUADALCAZAR, XIII. VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN. 1612-1621.

Upon the death of the last viceroy, the Audiencia, of course, took possession of the government during the interregnum;--and, as it seems that this body of men was always doomed to celebrate its authority by acts of folly or cruelty, we find that soon after its accession to power the city was alarmed by the news of another outbreak among the negroes. The people were panic struck. A terrible noise had been heard in the streets of the metropolis during the night, and, although it was proved that the disturbance was entirely caused by the entrance, during the darkness, of a large drove of hogs, the Audiencia determined, nevertheless, to appease public opinion by the execution of twenty-nine male negroes and four negro women! Their withered and fetid bodies were left to hang on the gallows, tainting the air and shocking the eyes of every pa.s.ser, until the neighborhood could no longer bear the sickly stench and imperiously demanded their removal.

The Marques de Guadalcazar took possession of the viceroyalty on the 28th of October, 1612, and his government pa.s.sed in quiet engaged in the mere ordinary discharge of executive duties during the first four years, subsequent to which an Indian insurrection of a formidable character broke out in one of the departments, under a chief who styled himself "Son of the Sun and G.o.d of Heaven and Earth." This a.s.sault was fatal to every Spaniard within reach of the infuriate natives, who broke into the churches, murdered the whites seeking sanctuary at their altars, and spared not even the ecclesiastics, who, in all times, have so zealously proved themselves to be the defenders of their race. Don Gaspar Alvear, Governor of Durango, a.s.sembled a large force as soon as the viceroy informed him of the insurrection, and marched against the savages. After three months of fighting, executions and diplomacy, this functionary succeeded in suffocating the rebellion; but he was probably more indebted, for the final reconciliation of the Indians, to the persuasive talents of the Jesuits who accompanied the expedition, than to the arms of his soldiers.

The remaining years of this viceroyalty are only signalized by the founding of the city of Cordova,--whose neighborhood is renowned for the excellent tobacco it produces,--and for the construction of the beautiful aqueduct of San Cosme which brings the sweet waters of Santa Fe to the capital. This monument to the intelligence and memory of Guadalcazar was completed in 1620; and, in March, 1621, the viceroy was removed to the government of Peru.

[Footnote 35: Velasco had been sent to Peru eleven years before, and after governing it seven, had returned to reside in Mexico, when he was unexpectedly reappointed viceroy.]

[Footnote 36: The level of Tezcoco is now, according to Muhlenpfordt, five feet seven inches (Spanish) below that of the city of Mexico.]

[Footnote 37: Ward's Mexico in 1827, vol. 2, p. 282 et seq.]

[Footnote 38: The metre is equal to thirty-nine thousand three hundred and seventy-one English inches.]